


A Game That Can't Be Won

by bythelightofthenight



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Multi, Slow Build, Witness Protection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 14:23:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5251505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bythelightofthenight/pseuds/bythelightofthenight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miller turned back to Bellamy. "Who the fuck is that?"<br/>"A hacker. Stole a fuck ton of money from the ring while working for them. Caught him an hour ago. He has viable information on the case so it's your job to keep him alive."<br/>"Or you could just call me Monty."</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Game That Can't Be Won

**Author's Note:**

> why is there so much swearing? i swear they don't say fuck in every sentence ...... or do they
> 
> i came up with this forever ago and dropped it and started again a little ago and boom 23k
> 
> TO NOTE the first 10k of this is basically just millermonty for obvious reasons as you'll see, but i've tagged ravenbell bc in the last 13k there's plenty of it, and i tagged clexa (it never suggests the tag idk why? or like a bg tag either?) bc i ended up really liking what i did with them but they are in a much smaller part, yes.
> 
> Oh and Warnings for basic cop series stuff like death mentions and drugs and guns and all that idk i had a huge criminal minds rewatch before writing this lmao Perhaps you can tell

Miller climbed onto the front seat of the black SUV and slammed the door shut. Bellamy didn't even turn to look at him as he started the car and drove off, Miller's building disappearing from sight.

"What's up? I got a call that I should be packed in ten and I'd only just gotten home?"

"The Wallace case is open again. You know how they caught the old man but the son is still out? Well they just found this guy dead from his apartment. He'd been involved with the family, but got thrown out of the ring for stealing from them. He's the third guy this year to end up dead."

"So? Since we're here, it means Monroe and Wells are already at the scene. Where are we going?"

"Safe house. Oh yeah, there's a kid in the back."

"Hey! I'm 23."

Miller twisted around in his seat to look in the backseat. The man sitting there stared back at him.

"What? I am!"

Miller turned back to Bellamy. "Who the fuck is that?"

"A hacker. Stole a fuck ton of money from the ring while working for them. Caught him an hour ago. He has viable information on the case so it's your job to keep him alive."

"Or you could just call me Monty."

Ignoring the hacker's cheery voice, Miller gaped at his partner. "I'm on babysitting duty? You're kidding."

"I'm not a child!"

"I'm sorry, dude", Bellamy shrugged. "But they want you to take it easy after you know."

"I can't believe this", Miller closed his eyes for a moment. "I've told Sinclair a thousand times that he doesn't need to baby me."

"Then you know how I feel", the hacker muttered behind him.

Bellamy's phone rang and he picked it up swiftly. He listened for a moment before setting it down again. In the next intersection he made a sharp turn.

"What happened?"

"Change of plans. They just found Collins dead too --"

"Wait, this kid ranks higher than Collins?"

"Now you're just doing it on purpose", the hacker huffed.

"Yeah, so I'm dropping you off at the motel. You'll get a car tomorrow morning and head for a new location."

Miller spent most of the ride wallowing in self pity and telling the hacker that, no, they in fact couldn't stop to pee. They had two crime scenes and a whole drug ring to find, and he was stuck in witness protection. The universe certainly had something against him.

Finally they reached the motel and Bellamy pulled over. He went to get their key, leaving Miller alone in the car with the hacker.

"So what's going to happen is that we're going to walk across the parking lot and up the stairs. I'm going to keep my hand on your back. You do not have to talk."

"Gotcha."

Bellamy returned to the car and handed over the room key. "Have fun", he grinned.

"This is not over", Miller shot him a glare before stepping out of the car.

"I can't believe you're leaving me with Grumpy over here", the hacker was saying as Miller opened his door.

"I want to be here even less than you. Trust me."

"I'm the one still under arrest!" the hacker noted.

"A motel beats a cell, but not my apartment."

"Touché."

He gave the man a push to get him moving. Bellamy drove off as Monty started walking toward the stairs, Miller's palm flat against the center of his back.

 

\--

 

"So", Monty said, dragging out the vowel. "What's your story?"

Miller looked up from the magazine he was reading. The man was lying on his stomach on one of the beds with his chin propped up on his hands, unaffected by his glaring. "I said you don't have to talk."

Monty rolled on his back, letting his head hang off the end, and whined. "But I'm so bored!"

"We've been here for, like, three hours."

"That makes, _like_ , six hours since I last had my phone. Or laptop. That's my whole life. You took it away."

"Sucks for you. Shouldn't have committed a crime", Miller shrugged, going back to his reading.

"You don't even know what I did."

He set down the magazine. "So how about you tell me."

Monty stared at him, still upside down. "Criminal code number one: don't trust cops. You first."

" _Criminal code_?"

"What I mean is that obviously I'm not going to just confess shit to you."

"Then I guess you'll just have to be quiet", Miller flashed him a smile before raising the magazine to cover his face.

"Fine", Monty huffed. The bed springs creaked as he got up. "I'm going to shower then. Don't know why I'm trying, though, since I have no change of clothes."

Miller didn't look his way anymore. He'd checked the bathroom when they got in. The window was too small for anyone to fit through. As soon as the door had shut behind Monty, he dug out his phone.

"I hate u", he sent to Bellamy.

There was no answer but he knew the message was received. When Monty came back out, his phone was securely tucked away again.

It was going to be a long night. He rarely slept well anymore so staying up wasn't a problem. The situation was what was pissing him off. His boss clearly didn't trust him on the field anymore. Soon he'd probably end up with a desk job. Witness protection was a downhill spiral.

 

\--

 

The night was uneventful. Monty fell asleep quickly and barely moved all night. Sometime during the early hours of the morning some noise came from behind the door, but it was just another resident leaving. Monty opened his eyes then but didn't seem to actually wake up properly.

Miller spent at least thirty minutes coming up with reasons to leave a motel room at five fifteen in the morning. A person with an affair going back home to their family. A divorcee having to leave early for work since they lived further away now. A sex worker finishing a gig.

He missed his own place. It was a relatively nice apartment for someone in his line of work. He'd worked hard to get it, too. Most of his friends were ready to start a family - he'd opted for a cool apartment.

Around seven he woke Monty up. "We gotta get going."

"Five more minutes", Monty mumbled into his pillow.

Miller just grabbed the covers and dragged them off of him. Monty groaned loudly but got up nonetheless.

"Where are we going?" he asked while pulling on his jeans.

"Safe house."

"Right. Thanks for clearing that up."

Monty begged him for five whole minutes to borrow his spare toothbrush, and he finally relented just to get him moving. They dropped off the room key to the reception and Miller asked for the package he knew had been left for him. A car stood in a parking spot waiting for them.

He got the key out of the envelope and clicked the doors open. Monty didn't look impressed.

"What happened to all the SUVs?"

"They attract attention. Get in."

Honestly, he would've preferred one too. But the point was to go unnoticed and get away.

"You have a gun, right? Why aren't we just staying put?" Monty asked once they were on the road.

"Most of the people involved in this case need to be caught alive."

"Like me?"

He saw the man staring at his lap from the corner of his eye. "Yeah. We can't have the Wallaces offing all the witnesses."

"Suppose I was lucky to get caught then?"

"I've seen what the guys they hire do... It's not pretty. Most of the injuries are rarely done post mortem."

"So you're my only chance at not having my - what, fingers cut off? Something like that?"

"I think you'll be happier if you don't know", Miller said honestly. "You're not going to die, anyway."

Monty scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one being kept alive just because you'll be of use one day. And that's _if_ there's ever a trial."

"You really don't trust cops at all?"

"If you weren't one, would you?"

He controlled the immediate reaction of his hands tightening on the steering wheel. "I don't know."

"Right", Monty snorted. "Who is it?"

"Who's what?"

"A cop too. Grandpa? Mom? Dad?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You've always seen them as heroes. Probably why you wanted to become one in the first place, right? Such an old story."

"Hey, you don't know a single thing about me. So cool it with the third degree, would you?"

"Fine... Sorry."

He glanced at Monty who was now looking out the window. How the kid had ended up in the ring was a complete mystery to him. Unless he was just that good of a liar, his rank made no sense.

"How long do you think we'll be driving? I just want to time my annoying follow up questions well enough so you'll crack."

Miller just rolled his eyes. "I'll let you know when to start."

"Hey, now. You're such a downer. Your job suits you."

"You really just can't stop talking, can you?"

Monty sighed. "I miss the internet. It's like I'm missing a limb."

"Sounds like an addiction."

"Oh, it is. But I stopped caring years ago."

"Great, so this is like rehab for you."

"I'm so glad we get to share this experience", Monty propped his feet up on the seat. "I'm hungry."

"There should be something in the back."

"Sure you won't arrest me for unbuckling?"

Miller leveled him with the most unimpressed look he could manage.

"Tough crowd", he muttered as he turned in his seat to reach to the back.

 

\--

 

It was a two-day drive to the safe house. They only stopped a couple of times so Miller could sleep for a few hours. No one paid attention to them, no one seemed to be following them. All in all it went well.

Monty kept talking in infuriating intervals before falling silent again. He tried to ask about his life, job, the case, but Miller gave him nothing. The hacker wasn't a quitter, though.

"Okay, if I wasn't a criminal, how would you treat me? Do good, hard-working people have to live on wet wipes too?"

"So you think you're not a good or hard-working person yourself?" he shot back.

" _Fuck_ , you're so petty. Okay, let's try this. If I tried to run away, what would you have to do?"

"Please don't."

"Don't what? Ask or run?"

Miller sighed. "Neither. Don't ask, don't run. It doesn't take much for them to find you. They know you've been in custody now. Are you sure you want to test their faith in you?"

Monty thought for a moment. "Would you have to shoot me? I know I have to stay alive."

"I'm not going to have to shoot you because you're not going to go anywhere."

"I love how much faith you have in me. How many guns do you have?"

"Enough."

"Enough like stop asking or enough guns to keep one grumpy cop happy?"

"You can always assume I'm telling you to stop asking."

"Keeping the mystery alive. I like it."

The house was in a wooded, sparsely populated area. Most yards they saw had swings and playhouses and toys scattered around. When they pulled over, Monty turned to stare at him with his mouth hanging open.

"You are kidding me."

"What?"

"You said we need to go unnoticed."

"Yeah?" he opened his seatbelt but Monty was still just staring at him.

"Do we look like a middle aged white couple with two and a half kids?"

"No?"

"You're killing me."

Miller rolled his eyes. "Come on."

He got out of the car and grabbed the bags from the backseat. Monty followed him reluctantly. Once they got in, Miller typed in the security code and checked the locks. He moved on to inspect the other rooms.

"Why do you hate me this much?" he heard Monty say.

He was staring at the landline phone, it turned out. Miller fought another eye-roll. "Okay, you're in the room on the right."

"It's like I'm a hostage", Monty said mournfully. "In 1998."

"There's a TV in the living room."

"I rest my case. When were TVs even invented? Oh, I don't know. And I can't google it because I don't have my phone!"

Miller threw a towel he'd found from one of the closets at his head. "Go shower. You reek."

" _You_ \--" he leaned slightly closer. "Actually, you smell quite nice. How do you do that?"

Miller closed his eyes and counted to three. Twice.

"Okay. Fine. I'm going. Not because you told me to, though. Only because I love and respect myself."

 

\--

 

It was only eight o'clock and Miller was ready to fall asleep. Monty had been flipping through channels for the past 45 minutes, bored and growing more and more restless. He kept jiggling his foot, and if Miller wasn't so tired he would've been annoyed.

"I'm going to die in this house. I can tell", Monty muttered.

"Or you could stop whining and go to bed."

Monty frowned at him. "Do I need to be asleep before you can sleep?"

"No."

"But? You just don't trust me?"

He pushed himself up from the couch. "The alarm goes off if you open any door or window. Just so you know."

"Any other fun facts I should be aware of?"

"I have a gun." With that he walked off.

He got into bed and suddenly he felt awake again. Sighing, he buried his face into his pillow. Sleep was his only escape and even that didn't want to work.

It could be months before he got back to work. He'd gone through the necessary therapy and testing already. This kind of break was completely unnecessary. Sure, part of the job was to get information, but he couldn't even think of a way to get Monty to talk. All he was doing was watching the kid while the others hunted down the rest of the ring. The least they could do was send him some files, anything, for him to work on.

He fell into an exhausted, dreamless sleep sometime during the night after hearing Monty's door click shut.

 

\--

 

It was day six in the safe house. The adjustment period seemed to be over. They were able to have regular, mostly polite conversations daily as long as Miller didn't bring up the case and Monty didn't get too personal.

One morning he'd called Bellamy and asked for something to do. He faxed him some case files that night. Monty wanted to see them so he couldn't get into it just yet. Still, it made him feel better that he wasn't left outside the investigation. Also he got to tell Bellamy off over the phone and say hi to Wells as he passed.

Miller left the house alone once to buy some groceries. Monty didn't talk to him for half a day because he was mad for not getting to go too. He didn't complain. Still, he figured Monty would get cabin fever sooner than later. They'd been in hiding for long enough without a problem.

"I can believe I'm excited to go to the library", Monty was nearly skipping towards the car. "This is the best part of my week."

Miller stopped before starting the car to level him with a look. "Just don't look like you've been locked up in a basement for five years, okay?"

"Is that what you'd think of me if you saw me on the street?"

From the change on Monty's face he knew he'd taken a second too long to answer.

"You're such a dick!" he huffed. "Unless that was a complimentary glance, in which case thank you."

He didn't dignify that with an answer.

The trip went fine. Once they got to the library, Monty headed straight for the computers, but Miller grabbed the back of his shirt and pushed him in the direction of the books. Monty ended up borrowing a huge pile and tried - unsuccessfully - to make him carry most of them.

Back at the house, Miller gave him a moment to get comfortable before sitting at the other end of the couch. "You've gotten a favor today. So how about you help me out a little?"

Monty narrowed his eyes at him. "What do you want? This is a sad attempt either way."

"You've got to have some information. If you want to get home, we need to catch these guys."

"What's happened to your other leads? Failed to keep them alive?"

Miller kept his voice steady. "You're right. A lot of people have died. But none of them in our hands. You must know they don't have your back. They're the ones trying to get rid of you so you can't testify against them."

"Oh I don't doubt that", Monty set down his book carefully. "But I could've disappeared on my own. Now I'm definitely on their list. Because of you. And don't try to manipulate me. You don't know how I live."

"Either way, now your only chance is them getting caught."

"I see how this works. You bring people in and then make them feel like they're in debt to you. And all along it's your fault that they're fucked in the first place."

"Well that's an exaggeration. We didn't force you to join crime leagues."

Monty laughed dryly. "Sure, I'll give you that. But I don't owe you anything. I can't believe you twisted something nice like this and threw it in my face." He lifted the book again, hiding his face behind it.

Miller sat there, watching him for a moment, before giving up and going to make them something to eat.

 

\--

 

He didn't apologize for doing his job. But by day 13 things were back to normal anyway.

It was hard to think they'd been there for nearly two weeks. The few updates from Bellamy told very little about the progress of the case. The Wallace son was still out there, keeping the ring alive and burying it deeper under covers. More constantly higher ranking people showed up dead every now and then and all leads went cold.

Bellamy had sent him Monty's file a few days earlier, but he felt too weird to look at it. It was starting to seem like maybe he should, though. If it gave him an in somehow, if there was a way to get Monty to talk.

The file was on top of the dresser in his room when Monty came in to suggest a walk in the woods that surrounded the house. There was no way for Miller to stop him from seeing it.

"What the fuck?" Monty grabbed it, opening it a little before slamming it back shut. He turned to glare at Miller, brows furrowed and mouth in a tight line. "You read my file?"

"Technically it's my job --"

"No. Fuck that. I'm a real person, not just whatever's written here."

"I know --"

"I'm sure you didn't have to read it. You could've just asked me --"

"What? Like how you've been helping me out so far?" Miller scoffed, moving closer to get the file from him.

"You could've tried to make an effort to make me trust you. But you took the easy way out", Monty jabbed him in the chest angrily. When he went in for the second time, Miller grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"One I'd deserve, but two?"

"Let me go", Monty hissed.

Miller knew his grip was nowhere near hard enough to hurt him so he didn't. "I didn't read your file, okay? It was sent to me but I didn't request it. And I didn't read it."

Monty was silent for a moment. "How can I know you're not lying?"

"I don't exactly have a polygraph test for you to perform. I guess you just have to trust me. So if I let you go, could you not hit me again?"

Monty pulled his arm free, and Miller took it as a yes. "I don't trust you."

"I know. But let's make a deal. You can read whatever's in there and show some or all of it to me if you want."

"What would you even get out of reading it? Tips on how to bond with me?"

Miller just shrugged.

"Fine. I'll read it. But I'm not promising anything." Monty stomped out of the room.

Miller ran a hand over his face with a sigh. He had no idea how this would turn out.

He joined Monty in the kitchen. The files usually had a basic criminal record and background information on the subject. Miller didn't know how much the database had on Monty.

They sat in silence until Monty flipped over the last page. "Alright. I'll play."

"What?"

"You can read the thing. It won't help you. But I'll let you ask three questions. About anything. And in return I get three questions too. About you."

Miller gave him an unimpressed look. "You really want to play 20 questions with me?"

"Not 20. Just three", Monty smiled, clearly happy with himself.

"Fine. Give me the file", he held his hand out for it.

"You need to give me your word. Three questions and three completely honest answers whether you like it or not."

"That goes for you too."

"Of course."

Miller had a feeling he'd regret this one way or another. Still, he took the file from a victorious looking Monty.

His record was surprisingly short. Arrested for the possession of marijuana with intent to sell, but the charges were dropped for some reason. Most of it was suspicion of involvement rather than anything with proof. Monty had studied at MIT but never graduated. Apparently he had rather impressive hacking skills on record. Never left a trace enough to get caught, though.

He was an only child and both of his parents were deceased. Last known address was over two years old and Miller knew the building no longer existed. As Monty said, it didn't really help him.

"I was expecting more from you if I'm completely honest", Monty was still smiling when he looked up. "You really don't know anything."

"Your drug charges. How did they just vanish?"

"Is this your first question?"

"Yes. As long as you answer well enough."

"I'm not going to claim it was _all_ a misunderstanding. It wasn't a small possession, either. My friend wanted to start dealing. Sadly he didn't exactly have the skills to be good at it. The cops showed up one day. I was home alone. They didn't care too much what I had to say, just cuffed me on the spot. Since they couldn't find my friend anywhere - his only skill was really just running - they were gonna pin it on me. My phone call was to my friend. I told him to get me the fuck out of there no matter what it took. He got in contact with his guy who’d gotten him the weed, who knew some other guy and probably a lot more guys. And I don’t know what happened but then I was out.”

Miller blinked at him. “You just got out.”

“Yeah.”

“And that’s how you ended up owing the Wallaces?"

Monty opened his mouth and closed it with a snap. "I didn't say that."

"But it's true."

"Are you asking?"

"No, I'm good."

Monty looked a lot less happy than earlier, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Was dropping out of school your own idea?"

"Occupational hazard", Monty grimaced.

Miller considered him for a moment. "You know, with your record you could've probably been hired."

"Huh?"

"People with skills like yours usually get drafted so they don't end up on the... wrong side of things."

"You're telling me the FBI would've hit me up with a job offer?"

"Well, more like a job threat", Miller snorted. "Work for us or go to jail."

"Great", Monty huffed. "So what's your third question? Don't you want to know what I did to get on that list?"

"I do, actually. But I have a job to do. Since you're supposed to have information on this case - yes or no? - why aren't you giving it out? You've got nothing to lose. You're under custody, we could catch them, you'd be free to go home."

Monty was quiet for a long while, clearly weighing his options and considering every word. "Yes, I do have information. But I also believe I'm being protected just so I get to see a day in court. When it comes to locations and such, I'm not as much use. And quite frankly, when they get me, knowing I stole from them, I'd like to think I'll go down less painfully if I haven't ratted them all out as well. There's no "going home" for me unless they're all locked up for good. In any other case I'm dead."

"You really don't think we can keep you safe?"

Monty tapped the tabletop. "Sorry. Honesty hour is over."

"What about your questions?"

He couldn't read the look on Monty's face. "I think I'll save them for later."

"I didn't know that was in the rules."

"You didn't ask", Monty shrugged, patting his shoulder as he passed.

Miller was left staring at the sheets of paper in front of him. He needed to call Bellamy soon... But that could wait a little longer.

Monty kicked him lightly when he dropped down on the other half of the couch, but didn't move his eyes from the tv screen.

 

\--

 

It started on the 19th day. They were in a supermarket, slowly strolling through the aisles. Monty kept putting completely useless items in the cart, and Miller put them back at the same pace.

"You know what we look like?" Monty said suddenly.

"No."

His lack of excitement didn't phase Monty. "We're like the neighborhood gay couple. All these folks must be suspicious."

"Mhm."

"Do you think we'd be the two kids and a Honda Civic or the dog and a questionable number of weekly visitors kind of couple?"

"Since when are we a couple?"

"Since we moved into this neighborhood, obviously. I was definitely the one who proposed, right?"

Miller sighed deeply. "Please stop."

"What? Am I hitting a nerve?"

"No. Just be quiet."

Monty left it at that. But Miller didn't stop thinking about it. The sudden change in tone had to be a warning. He'd promised three honest answers to any questions. He didn't put it above Monty to not ask anything personal.

Clearly it wasn't over yet.

It wasn't unusual for him to work out inside the house, but normally Monty did his own thing while he was busy. Now when Miller was done, Monty was leaning against the doorframe.

"I'll admit. You're pretty hot."

Miller leaned his forehead on his hands for a moment before looking up at him. "Did I ask?"

"You know, you're probably the type to take home to meet the parents. If mine were alive, that is."

"Please leave me alone."

"Like a fucking wall", he heard Monty mutter as he left the room.

He couldn't tell if Monty was just trying to psych him out. There had to be something he thought he'd gain from whatever it was that he was doing. Miller wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was.

On the 26th day Monty sat across from him at the kitchen table. He let his hands hit the tabletop loudly in attempt to draw his attention.

"Okay. What is it?"

"What's what?" Miller asked without looking up from his book.

"Did mom and dad not love you? What is it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you religious? Were you raised in a cult?"

"What?"

"That's a no then. What other reasons even are there?"

Miller gave him a weird look. "What exactly are you trying to ask me? You still have three questions, don't you?"

Monty made an exasperated noise. "I'm not wasting one on this. I don't need to _ask_ you. I can _see_ you. But you're holding yourself back at every fucking turn like it's your job. Wait, is that why? Did you closet yourself for the job and that turned you unable to communicate emotions like a human?"

"Wait, are you asking if I'm gay now? And why are you even asking if you don't want an honest answer?"

"Because I'm trying to get you to show me! Anything that isn't a monotone remark."

"What is this a therapy session now?"

"Do you have a therapist?" Monty raised a brow.

"Obviously --" he stopped himself at Monty's smug grin. He got up, but Monty followed.

"See? That's the shit you did to me. You tried to manipulate reactions out of me without having to ask", Monty stepped in front of him. "So come on. Give me something. Get mad. Lash out. Tell me I made you uncomfortable by making a fake pass at you."

Miller pushed him away, but he didn't seem fazed. "What, are you getting off on this or something? Why do you want me to get mad at you?"

"Because when people get emotional, they reveal shit about themselves. Talking to you is like talking to a fucking wall. The reason you thought without a doubt you could get something out of me by knowing things about me is because I'm not a repressed lump of a person like you!"

"Thanks for the analysis", Miller scoffed, "but there's one flaw in your conclusion. I'm not holding anything back. I just don't want to share with you. And why would I --"

"God, stop with the you're a criminal speech. Don't I fucking know it? But if you're so sure you've got nothing to hide, show me. Or more like don't show me", Monty crossed his arms over his chest. "So what did your therapist tell you? Something in your childhood made you cold?"

His mom died when he was four, too long ago to affect him anymore. His face stayed neutral.

"No, it's got to be puberty, right? Who did you wrong? Was it dad? Oh! Shit, let me guess. Your dad's a cop. I'm right, aren't I?"

His dad had been an officer for forty years. Just the mention of him always made the corner of his mouth twitch downwards.

Monty gasped loudly and leaned closer to stare at his face. "We're getting closer. So dad's not a big fan of you back in the day, huh? And your response to that was to join the force? Why did you want to impress him so bad?"

"This is not fair."

"And why's that?"

"I needed information on the case. To stop people from getting hurt. Hell, even to help save your ass. What you're doing is just being shitty."

"So? What do you want me to do?"

"To cut it out."

"Why?"

"Because my personal life is none of your business."

"Okay", Monty shrugged. He turned around to walk away.

Miller let out a breath. "That's it?"

"I just wanted to see you're not a robot. You wouldn't tell me otherwise."

"You're an idiot."

Monty flashed him a smile over his shoulder. "And still you fell for it."

"Dick."

"Don't feel too bad about it!"

 

\--

 

He didn't talk for two days. Miller wasn't mad. He was actually a little impressed Monty had the guts to come after him like that. But pretending he was mad allowed him to get some peace and quiet.

A month had gone by. Life in the safe house was still as uneventful as it was on day one. They frequented at the library, walked in the woods, watched way too much TV, annoyed each other in their own ways. Monty had started to talk about the things he'd do when he was free to go. Miller wondered if he knew they could possibly charge him with something too.

It was late at night between days 32 and 33 when Miller woke up in his bed, covered in cold sweat. Now, it wasn't an unusual occurrence to him, but this time he heard noises behind his door. It opened with a soft click, and before he even registered it, he had his gun pointed at the figure in his doorway.

"Fuck, Miller, don't fucking shoot me!"

He put down the gun at the sound of Monty's voice, switching on the bedside lamp instead. Monty blinked against the light. He was still in his pyjama pants and t-shirt, hair a mess.

"What are you doing?"

Monty gave him an offended look. "What am _I_ doing? You're the one waking me up in the middle of the night with your screaming."

"I --" He didn't know what to say. It rarely happened anymore and normally no one was there to witness it. Anya wouldn't be happy to hear it.

"Are you okay?" Monty frowned. He took a seat on the edge of his bed, far enough to not touch him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just -- Nightmares, you know?"

"I get nightmares too, but I don't wake up half the neighborhood when I do."

Miller pulled his knees up to his chest. "Sorry."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Monty asked carefully.

"Are you _asking_ asking?"

"No. Only if you want to tell me."

Miller shrugged. Monty didn't leave, though, simply sitting there in silence.

"I have a therapist, remember? I shouldn't have to anymore."

"I'm no therapist but it might still help. We're kind of friends, right?" At Miller's unimpressed look he rolled his eyes. "Reluctant friends. But still."

Miller took his time before speaking. "I got shot. Pretty badly. It was over a year ago. I was in the hospital for a long time. Then did rehab."

"Is that why you're here? With me, I mean."

"I did all the psych evaluations and stuff, but they didn't seem to trust me. Anya - my therapist - said I have PTSD. But it was a mild case. Still, they didn't want me working in the field like I used to."

Monty didn't say anything.

"All I get is the nightmares anymore. Otherwise I'm fine. It doesn't affect my work."

"Except that you don't sleep. That affects everything."

"It's not that I don't want to sleep, but I can't."

"There's a word for that."

"It's not my fault --"

"I'm not saying that. But you gotta know they're professionals for a reason."

Miller bit his lip. "You asked me why I want to impress him so bad. I don't know. But my work is all I've got. My friends are all from work. I don't have time to see anyone because of work. My mom died when I was four. My dad was all I had left."

"I'm sorry. About that and for pushing you."

"It's fine."

They sat in silence for a while.

"My parents died when I was 14. In an accident. I make fun of most things because of it. It's a little easier when everything's just one big joke. But I don't think they'd be proud of me."

"You're still a kid. You've got plenty of time to make them proud."

Monty huffed out a laugh. "I'm not a kid."

"Fine. You're not a kid."

"You can't be that much older than me."

"I'm turning 29 this year."

"Okay, you're like a relic."

"Thanks."

Monty's smile was broken by a yawn.

"You can go back to sleep."

"Will you?"

"Probably not. Who knows."

"Sure you don't want company?"

"Yeah. I won't stand you tomorrow if you haven't slept."

Monty smacked his leg as he got up. "Okay. See you in the morning. First one up makes the coffee."

"Funny."

 

\--

 

The next morning Miller was in the kitchen when Monty came out of the shower. Miller didn't look up when he padded over.

Monty cleared his throat. "Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Are we pretending it never happened?"

"A little bit", he nodded. Monty didn't say anything and finally he looked up. "Seriously?"

Monty peeled his eyes off the phone on the counter next to him with a sigh. "It's just been so long."

"I know. But you're still alive, aren't you?"

"Sadly, yes", Monty gazed at the phone for a little longer before focusing on him. "You don't usually whip it out when I'm around. Are you waiting for something?"

Miller rolled his eyes, but Monty just kept grinning at him. "Anya's calling me in a few minutes."

"Ooh. Are you going to blame it all on me? I give you full permission."

"Thanks", he snorted. "But no, I'll have to talk about what I think could've caused me to have another nightmare."

"Shit, it wasn't really me, right?"

"No." Miller gave him a once-over. "How about you go finish your shower since it's clearly still happening right on the floor."

Monty shook his head to send droplets of water flying his way. "I finished just fine."

Miller turned his eyes towards the ceiling and wondered how this became his life.

Monty disappeared into his bedroom just as the phone rang. He grabbed it and made his way out to the front porch.

"Hi."

"Hey, Miller! How are you?"

"Well, I'm basically living in the woods with nothing but a TV and a whiny drug ring member so..."

"Just the usual then", Anya chuckled. "You know, we could've left this checkup to a later time."

"I know. But I woke Monty up last night and he said I was yelling in my sleep."

"Monty is your..."

"Criminal roommate, yes."

"Right. You know there are setbacks. But this is such a minor one on the bigger scale, Miller. Don't be too hard on yourself."

"What if there's another spiral?"

"How have you been otherwise? I know sharing your seclusion with someone else isn't really a part of your usual routine. But I doubt it'll cause you to spiral. Isn't the lack of work relaxing?"

"If this felt like a vacation, maybe. But I guess I've been fine. Normal. It's not ideal but it's fine."

"When was your last nightmare before this one?"

"A big one? Uh, I'm not sure. The days here kind of merge together."

"And when was the last time you slept properly?"

He could imagine the look she'd give him if she was there. "A while."

"Have you considered the medication again?"

"The sleeping pills? I don't know. I just don't want to do anything that will stop me from getting back on the field."

"Okay, we have 90 more seconds. Is there something else you want to talk about? I'll send you the next appointment time to your house again, but you can call me earlier than that like always."

"Imagine if all our appointments were limited to the time it takes to properly track my phone."

"Safety first."

"You really think I'll be fine?"

"I do. But think about the meds, okay? Sleep would do you some good."

"I feel like you're judging the way I look even without seeing me."

"I would never."

He laughed. "Okay, talk to you later."

"Stay safe."

As he got back inside, Monty was lying on the couch, staring shamelessly at him. "You look chipper. You sure it was just your therapist?"

"Yes. See this is how I am with my actual friends."

Monty held his chest. "Oh, the snark. So harsh coming from someone whose only friend is their therapist."

He went to sit down next to him. Monty tried to kick him but he smacked his foot before he got close enough.

"Why don't you think we're friends? How long does it usually take to wear you down?"

"You're not the kind of person I'd usually befriend."

" _What?_ I'm everyone's friend. What is it about me that makes me so unfriend-like? I'm too cute, right? You can't focus on just being friends."

"I'd say it's the not trusting me part. And the manipulative streak a little."

"You call it unfriendly, I call it sexy."

Miller let his head fall back. "You're a real catch."

"You're a bad liar. Not meaning that last part but the other stuff."

"Why do you want me to admit to liking you so bad? I'm on duty."

"But can you imagine how long this thing could last? Could be years."

"They won't keep me in with you for _years_. You'd have to get comfortable with the next poor sucker who gets sent in after me."

Monty's face fell slightly. "Hadn't thought of that."

"It's just how things work."

"But if they can't put you on the field, wouldn't it be nice to stay here with me rather than hit the desk?"

"Depends on how much worse you get with time."

Now Monty got a kick in, but instead of pulling back in fear of retaliation, he stuck his toes under Miller's thigh. "I've never been this offended."

"See? You couldn't handle me as your friend. You can't handle the truth."

"Keep fooling yourself, buddy. I know you're crazy about me."

Miller just closed his eyes.

 

\--

 

It was dark when he woke up. After dinner they'd gone into the woods again before settling on the couch. Sometime during Jeopardy he'd fallen asleep with Monty's legs thrown over his.

The TV was still on on mute, but Monty wasn't there. He kicked off the blanket that was set over him and sat up. No sounds were coming from the bathroom or kitchen so he assumed Monty had gone to bed. And yet the TV was still on.

A soft thump caught his attention. He switched off the TV and padded towards the bedrooms. There was a light on in his room but not Monty's. He pushed the door open abruptly.

Monty was sitting on the floor in front of his dresser. A few of the drawers were open, and the look on Monty's face was not happy.

"What the fuck?"

Monty got up from the floor. "Okay, I know this looks bad --"

" _Looks bad?_ What are you looking for?"

"Clearly your gun so I can shoot you. What do you think I'm looking for?"

"You're kidding me", Miller ran a hand over his face. "What were you going to do?"

"Check Facebook?"

"Stop fucking around. You're the one always talking about trust and friendship and shit. What is this now?"

"Calm down --"

"You have no right to tell me to calm down."

"Okay! I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"You could've at least tried to sound sincere."

Monty threw up his hands. "What am I supposed to do? You won't give in to me. Like you said, I'll have to work over the next guy that comes in all over again! I took a chance. That honest enough for you?"

They stared at each other angrily, a silence stretching on. Monty took a step forward and suddenly they were kissing.

Miller gripped his hips too tightly as Monty wrapped his arms around his neck. His lips were surprisingly soft against his even though it felt like he was trying to make it rough.

It didn't take long before Miller pushed him away by removing his grip from around his neck. "What are you doing?" he asked breathlessly.

Monty took a hold of his wrists. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Something that's very inappropriate and against the rules."

"That exactly", Monty moved right into his space without touching him anywhere but on his arms. "You want me. Tell me I'm wrong. _Be honest_."

"You're stooping really low."

Monty just grinned, trailing a finger up his thigh. "That's not a no."

Miller suppressed a shiver. Monty let go of his other wrist too and stepped back. He followed, crashing their lips together again. Monty didn't stop smiling even when his back hit the wall. He broke the kiss, leaning their foreheads together.

"Tell me. Come on."

They just stood there, breathing unevenly and trying to read the other's eyes. Miller could almost hear Monty's heart thumping in his chest while the confident look on his face didn't falter.

"You're not... wrong."

Monty bit his lip, tracing his jaw with his thumb. "Show me."

 

\--

 

The sun wasn't up just yet when his eyes fluttered open. Staring at the wall, Miller waited for his brain to return to reality all the way.

He'd slept for... hours. More than he remembered since moving there. He'd be embarrassed if he wasn't so relaxed.

His mind was playing a loop of Monty's face when he giggled softly after they fell back side by side on the bed. Now _that_ was embarrassing.

Shaking himself out of it, he carefully stretched out his limbs only to find the space next to him empty. The house was quiet around him. Miller wondered if Monty had gone to sleep in his own bed at some point of the night. His clothes were mostly gone from his floor.

After quickly brushing his teeth and throwing something on, he found himself behind Monty's door. It wasn't shut like usually, though. He pushed it open and was met with an empty room. Alarms were going off in his head, he just didn't know what kind.

The kitchen was empty too as was the living room. It wasn't until then that he noticed Monty's shoes were missing. Miller ran to grab his phone and after a second of thinking his gun. He hadn't taught Monty the security codes of the house, but he figured he shouldn't be surprised the kid had learned them anyway.

He spotted Monty the second he stepped outside. He was sitting in the driver's seat of the car, but hadn't started it yet.

"Get out of the car, Monty!" Miller yelled as he approached.

Monty didn't move. He knocked on the window but Monty just stared back at him. It looked like he was saying something but he couldn't hear. His eyes went wide when Miller opened the door.

"Don't shoot!"

"I'm not going to shoot you. Just get out of the car."

"Miller --"

"I can't fucking believe you. You slept with me so you could run?"

"Miller --"

"I thought it'd be a bad idea because it's against the rules, but you -- You truly outdid yourself!"

"MILLER, WOULD YOU LISTEN TO ME?"

Only then did he notice that Monty still looked terrified and he was sitting completely rigid. "What is it?"

"There's a bomb. Under my seat", Monty said, voice low but shaky.

"What?"

"I'm not kidding, Miller. I've seen enough shit in my life and _I know_. I saw a wire when I got in. I heard it. I swear."

"Okay, okay. Stay still." He crouched down and leaned under the steering wheel. With his phone as a flashlight he got a look under the seat. "How long have you been sitting here?"

"Like a half an hour tops. I don't know. This is what happens when people don't have their phones", Monty babbled.

Miller straightened back up with a sigh. "It is a bomb."

Monty squeezed his eyes shut and let out a shaky breath. "Great."

"I'm going to see from the back what I can do." He was about to get up when Monty grabbed his hand, gripping it painfully tight.

"Don't leave me, Miller. Don't let me die. I don't wanna die."

"Hey", he put his hand over Monty's. "You're not dying. It's my job to keep you alive, right? You just have to trust me. And stay very still."

"Okay. Okay."

Monty let go of his hand, eyes swimming. Miller got the door open carefully and kneeled down to see under the seat again. "It looks like a basic lever-action compression detonator. I need to get something between the latch and the seat bottom."

"I didn't know you know about bombs", Monty said weakly.

"Let's just hope I know enough. I need to go find something to use for this. Don't move."

"Miller?"

He turned back to meet Monty's eyes. "Yeah?"

"Hurry."

Miller headed around the house to the back where the remains of an unfinished DIY project were. There were old tiles but they were too brittle. Finally he settled on a short plank of wood, hoping it wasn't too thick.

"Okay, I'm back", he called as he jogged over.

"You know what you're doing?"

"We don't exactly have the resources for a bomb squad right now so I'll have to do." He got down on the ground. "Okay, listen to me carefully. When I tell you to get up, you go and run to the back. Cover your ears when you go."

"Why?"

"I'm gonna let the car blow up."

"What? Why?"

"Someone tried to blow you up. They're gonna want to see that something got blown up. Now, less questions. Tell me you understand."

"I do."

Slowly he slid the plank under the seat and over the bomb. When it was securely there, he told Monty to get up as steadily as he could. He didn't look, but he heard Monty's steps on the gravel as he ran.

Now that he was in position, he really had no idea if the bomb would just detonate the moment he let go. He did his best lodging the plank in place before taking off. The force of the explosion threw him off his feet, but he was already nearly at the corner of the house.

"Miller!" Monty appeared in his line of sight. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine", he grunted.

As soon as he was back on his feet, Monty had his arms around him. "Thank you", he whispered against his neck, petting the back of his head.

"You still have a fuck ton of explaining to do", Miller said, but held on to him anyway. He could feel Monty's heart hammering in his chest.

"Are you still mad at me?" Monty asked as he pulled away.

"Yeah, I'm mad. I can't believe you made me sleep with you."

"Hey, now! It was all 100% consensual."

"You could've just hit me over the head and ran like any other person would do."

"Did you stop to consider I wanted to sleep with you? Huh? And clearly you did too."

"So, what? You were waiting around until I gave in? You know what - it doesn't matter. We need to go."

"Where?"

"Anywhere but here."

 

\--

 

"Miller, please tell me what I need to do to make you forgive me."

They'd packed their things from the house and left for the woods.

"You can tell me what your plan was and who you contacted."

"And you'll stop hating me?" Monty asked hopefully.

"You'll just have to find out."

Monty sighed, picking up his pace to keep up with him. "I called my friend --"

"The worst dealer on earth guy?"

Monty sighed again. "Yes. But I only needed him to get me a line to this other person. I wanted them to call me to the payphone in town."

"You called your friend from my phone?"

He nodded. "After you fell asleep."

"Who did you want to contact?"

"They call her Raven. I worked with her a few times. I knew she could get me anywhere."

Miller frowned. "Why trust her?"

"She's an... independent entrepreneur. She'd gain nothing from ratting me out."

"There’s a few problems with this story. I get how my passcode is no problem to you, but my phone is still pretty damn secure. And I think you know that too. So what doesn't make sense is how someone got here during last night, set a bomb to wait for you and knew it'd work."

Monty stopped in his tracks. "You think I did it?" His tone was more hurt than he'd ever heard it.

"Do you have another explanation? You're telling me after your phone call you just went back to sleep. And in the morning there was a bomb in the car. Why wait till the morning anyway?"

"That's when I told to set up the call. Why would I even plant a bomb? I could've just left! That was the plan."

"And after making the call? What were you going to do? Also, if I remember correctly, you said once that you're not really any use when it comes to locations and such. Clearly you're connected well enough. So tell me again how I should trust you", Miller growled. His patience was running out fast.

"I just told you I didn't know how to contact her myself!"

"Was it her then? Who gave away the location? Or was it your friend? Want to give it a guess?"

"I don't know! Someone tried to kill me! I knew it'd happen sooner or later. It's been quiet way too long. But I don't know who it was or who sent them!"

Miller shook his head. "I know I've said this a lot of times, but you still don't think I can keep you safe?"

"I knew you'd try."

"Why did you do it then?"

"Because there's only one of you. They could be anywhere. If you're with me when they get me, you're dead too."

Miller blinked at him, trying to process what he was saying. He didn't really get all the way through when suddenly they were kissing again.

Monty made a desperate noise in his throat when he brought their lips together. The force of the kiss had him grasping at Miller's shoulders for balance. Miller's hands moved over his back to hold him even closer.

Miller was also the one who pushed him away. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to shake himself out of it. "We've got to stop doing that. We need to focus."

"Agreed", Monty said, still slightly breathless and weak in the knees. "You're a great kisser, though."

Miller shot him a warning look. "Okay, I don't think you had anything to do with the bomb. But I doubt it's a coincidence the bomb ended up there between the call and you sneaking out."

"Maybe it was there longer? It could've been meant for the both of us."

"We would've noticed. And we drove to the store yesterday because you wouldn't stop whining about wanting ice cream."

"Hey, don't look at me so accusingly. I made up for the trouble just fine last night."

Miller ignored him. "So someone did it during the night. But who tipped them off?"

"It wasn't Raven. She's not moved by other people's causes."

"That only leaves your friend. Would he give up the information voluntarily?"

"I -- I don't know. I haven't seen him in like three and a half months."

"Think, Monty. There's a reason you don't know for sure. Does he have a grudge against you? Does he have some personal agenda that could be helped by telling someone about you?"

"I trust him. I don't know if that's a mistake. But he's the only one I knew to call."

Miller ran a hand over his face. "Let's keep going. The road isn't too far from here."

"Where will we go?"

"I don't know yet. I have to call my supervisor. They'll figure out soon enough there's no body parts in the ruins."

"I might not be able to call Raven, but we could go to her", Monty suggested. “I know where her shop is.”

“Where is it?”

Monty grimaced. “We have to get back somehow.”

“To the house?”

“To the city.”

 

\--

 

“Miller, thank god you’re okay”, Bellamy gasped the second the call connected. “I heard about the bomb and -- Wait, where are you?”

“We’re coming back to the city”, he switched the phone to his other ear so he could grab the back of Monty’s jacket before he took the wrong turn.

“The kid’s still with you?”

“Of course. You thought I couldn’t do my job?”

“No, I thought almost getting blown up could be a bit of a hassle. Why are you coming back? There’s a reason you went so far to begin with.”

“Well we’re like a day away. Monty’s got a friend there who can apparently get us somewhere safe.”

“Legally?”

“I wouldn’t know. We’ll regroup once we get there.”

“Do you know who gave away your location?”

“Monty tried to take off”, Miller shot the aforementioned a look. Monty just grinned. “He called someone on my phone. My guess is it was him.”

“Do you have a name?”

“Hey, Monty. Your friend got a name?”

“Why?” he narrowed his eyes at him.

“So Bellamy can track him down.”

Monty didn't look convinced. "Jasper Jordan."

"Did you hear that, Bell?"

The line was silent and Miller had to check the call hadn't cut off.

"Bellamy?"

"Literally like 45 minutes ago we found a guy called Jordan dead from an alley downtown."

"Shit."

"What? What is it?" Monty frowned.

"Bell, can you hold on just for a second?"

"Yeah."

"Miller, what's going on?" Monty demanded as he lowered the phone.

"I'm really sorry, but they found Jordan dead earlier today."

Monty stared somewhere past his head with his mouth open. Miller put his hand on his shoulder carefully, but he didn't move.

"When did it happen?" Monty cleared his throat as he met his eyes. "Did he, um -- Did he suffer?"

"I don't know what the ME's report says, but it was earlier today. Do you want me to ask?"

Monty just nodded.

"Bell, you still there?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Do you have a time of death?"

"Somewhere between one and three in the morning."

"What about cause of death?"

"Gunshot wounds to the chest. Second one hit the heart. Didn't take long after that."

"Were there any signs of torture? We're trying to figure out if he gave the info voluntarily if he was the one who sold Monty out."

Monty wrapped his arms around himself.

"No, he was clean. If he did it, it was intentional. But obviously this could've been just a transaction gone wrong. I'll see what we can find."

"Thanks. I'll call you again when we're closer."

"Okay."

He pocketed the phone. Monty grabbed his hand and held it between his own.

"Just tell me."

"He didn't suffer. He was shot. But if he snitched on you, he did it on purpose."

Monty let go of him, nodding firmly. "Okay, let's go."

"You sure? It's okay if you need a minute."

"No. I just want to get to Raven's."

"Alright. If you're sure."

 

\--

 

It was the middle of the night when they got off their last bus. Miller called Bellamy as they left the station.

"Hey, we're here now."

"Where exactly are you going?"

"Monty knows some woman. Raven. What did you say she did, Monty?"

"She has a garage."

"She has a garage in the city."

The line fell silent.

"Don't give me more bad news, Bell."

"No, I'm -- That's not it. I'm going to come meet you, okay?"

"Uh, okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be there in like an hour tops."

"Okay. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you soon."

Bellamy hung up then. Miller frowned at the black screen. He hadn't asked for the address. Monty raise a brow at him, but he just shrugged.

They walked for another fifteen minutes. The streets were mostly empty, just cars driving past them. Miller had suspected someone was following them a few towns over, but it seemed to be a false alarm. Monty was barely awake, stumbling slightly on his own feet. Miller had to grab a hold of his arm multiple times to keep him from falling over.

Finally Monty stopped in front of a door on the side of a building. The light was out on the side of the street, but he went on confidently to knock on it. For a while it was quiet until the sound of multiple locks turning came through the door.

A woman was standing in the dark, staring at them with an unsure look on her face.

"Raven?"

"Monty?"

"Hi. It's been a while."

"Yeah, a bit." She glanced at Miller and her eyes narrowed. "I know you, too."

Miller blinked at her, trying to figure out how they could've met before. "You sure?"

"Positive."

Monty's eyes moved between them before he found his voice again. "So, um, could we come in?"

"Your boyfriend's a cop, you know", Raven nodded at Miller.

"Oh, I know."

"I'm not his boyfriend."

Raven scoffed. "So they all say at first." She stepped aside. "Come in."

They walked inside and Raven shut the door, turning all the locks again. She led them up a flight of stairs into a neat studio apartment. There were surprisingly many artworks on the walls, and Miller could hear Monty mumbling names and making sounds of approval at her choices.

"So what are you doing, coming knocking at my door late at night after being awol for six months?" Raven dropped down on an armchair.

"I'm in a little bit of trouble", Monty said, sitting down on the couch next to it.

"Aren't we all", Raven grinned. "What did you do?"

"The cops snatched me on my way to a gig, told me I gotta testify. So obviously I'm blacklisted then. They got me in witness protection. Few days back someone tried to blow me into pieces with a car bomb."

Raven eyed Miller, who was still standing, again before turning back to Monty. "Well didn't you get lucky."

Miller glared at the both of them. Monty made the right choice of ignoring her comment.

"Did Jasper Jordan call you some time ago? I asked to get you to call me but, well, I got a bomb delivered to my front door instead."

"Nope, haven't heard from anyone", she flashed a smile at Miller. "I'm nothing but a humble business owner."

Miller rolled his eyes, but still didn't say anything. Monty didn't look happy.

"I heard the kid became a rat, though", Raven said thoughtfully. "But way before. Wasn't feeling so hot as a shitty little pot dealer so he went and took a deal."

"Really?"

"So I've heard", Raven shrugged. "So your boy here's a narc, right? Aren't you the couple of the year."

"One issue at a time, please. You're sure about Jasper?"

"Is anything in life really sure? But he didn't call me. My guess is he went to tattle on your little ass the second you finished that call."

Monty covered his face with his hands. "Shit."

"Jordan's dead", Miller told Raven.

"Oh shit", Raven laid her hand on Monty's shoulder. "They're really coming then?"

"It's why we're here", Miller said. "If we can't keep up with them, we gotta figure out something new."

"I'll help, of course", Raven stroked Monty's arm. "Don't worry."

A loud knock came from downstairs. While Raven was unaffected, both Monty and Miller jumped at the sound. Miller had forgotten for a moment that Bellamy was supposed to be coming after them.

It hit him right there. Monty jumped again at the gasp he let out. Raven had already padded across the floor and disappeared down the stairs.

"What?" Monty asked.

"I know her!"

"Okay... And?"

"She's --"

Someone cleared their throat and they turned to see Bellamy walking in behind Raven.

"Bellamy's girlfriend", Miller finished.

"Fiancée, actually", Raven corrected.

"Shit, right", Miller turned to stare at Bellamy. "Dude?"

Bellamy grimaced. "I'm sorry?"

"About what exactly? That you haven't introduced me to your fiancée properly or that you knew she's a -- What are you actually?"

"A mechanic", Raven smiled innocently. "And a smuggler."

"Yeah, that she's a -- Hold on. What exactly do you smuggle?"

"Stuff."

"Drugs?"

Raven looked offended. "No. Not drugs. I still have _some_ pride."

"What then?"

"Art, mostly."

"And you knew?" he asked Bellamy.

Bellamy looked ashamed. "Yeah."

Miller turned to Monty. "You're not a drug dealer. Are you?"

"You thought that I was a drug dealer?" Monty exclaimed.

Miller stared at him with his mouth hanging open. " _Obviously._ "

"You slept with me thinking I was a drug dealer?"

"You slept with him?" Bellamy frowned.

" _You_ stay out of this", Miller snapped. "I suspected you weren't, but there was no confirmation. You worked for the Wallaces!"

"The old man has a pretty extensive art collection. When I got sucked into that whole mess I made myself useful anywhere but dealing. That's how I met Raven. And I haven't really worked for them in forever. I stole from them, remember?"

"What the fuck?" Miller sat down on the couch. "I mean I figured you weren't that deep into the business since you didn't really know about the hitmen. So it didn't make sense how you were so important. And now all this art mumbling when we came in."

"Art mumbling?"

"You knew all the works and shit", Miller waved him off. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't ask!"

"Okay!" Raven raised her voice. "This is fun and all, but it's kind of late and clearly we have plenty of work to do tomorrow. So could you leave whatever fight you're starting for tomorrow?"

Bellamy rubbed her back comfortingly. Miller's mind was still boggled.

"Yeah, let's go to sleep", Monty agreed.

"If you take off the cushions, there's some room on the couch", Raven said through a yawn.

"Great", Miller muttered to himself.

Before going to bed with Bellamy, Raven threw a blanket at them. Monty settled down first and Miller followed grudgingly.

"I can't believe you thought I was a drug dealer", Monty mumbled.

Miller tugged on the blanket so it moved off of him a little. Monty glared at him and wriggled closer to get fully covered again.

"Literally what else could've I thought?"

"Anything."

They stared at each other angrily until Monty's eyes flickered down to his lips. Miller thought his eyes would roll out of his head soon.

"Don't even fucking try it."

Monty pouted. "You're no fun."

"Yeah well, either way. No more making out."

"You've already broken all the rules. I'm starting to think you're making up new ones just to break them too."

"Please just go to sleep."

Monty rolled over with an annoyed huff, backing right into him until his back was pressed against Miller's chest. He reached back to grab his hand and pulled his arm over himself. "At least keep me warm, you grouchy asshole."

 

\--

 

He got some sleep again. The sound of a shower woke him up in the morning. He'd only been up a few times during the night. He put it on the exhaustion of traveling rather than having Monty's body against his.

The thought of a shower was inviting. Monty was basically lying on top of him, face tucked to the crook of his neck and their legs tangled. He'd get so annoying if Miller woke him up. It annoyed him a little how well he knew the kid.

Not a kid. An art thief. What annoyed him even more was how attractive he found the level of criminal sophistication. Clearly he was just as bad as Bellamy - who was an entirely different problem to deal with.

Not that he was with Monty. It wasn't the same thing. But all of it was an equally large mess.

"Morning", Raven peered at him over the arm of the couch, her wet hair dripping on him.

"You're wet."

"The concept of a shower could interest you."

"It does, actually."

Raven glanced in the direction of her bed. "Oh by the way, Bellamy wants to know if you're still mad at him."

"Well Bellamy can come ask me himself", he raised his voice towards the end.

"Stop yelling", Monty whined, snuggling closer to him.

Raven smirked. "How's that not dating working for you?"

Miller struggled himself free from Monty's grip and got up. "Got a towel?"

"I'll get you one."

"Want some company?" Monty mumbled without opening his eyes.

"Do not --"

"Just kidding", Monty grinned.

Miller flicked his forehead and went after Raven before he could see the smile on his face.

 

\--

 

"Okay, kids", Raven set four beers on the table before taking a seat. "You've got a plan?"

They'd been stuck in her apartment all day while she took care of some "business".

"Uh", Monty said.

"We were a little busy getting the fuck away from whoever was setting bombs in our yard. I thought we've been over this."

"You had the whole way here to figure it out", Raven shrugged. "Anyway. We need to make one up now then."

"What are we trying to do?" Bellamy frowned.

"I mean... they're trying to kill me. There's an investigation going on. I have no idea if the whole ring can actually be taken down."

"Usually no. When the one calling the shots gets brought in, a lot of people just disappear", Miller picked at the label of his bottle.

"There's a case for both of the Wallaces to go away for a long time. For now Cage's advantage has been going underground. If we can't find him, we can't charge him. And he's been taking care of cutting loose ends efficiently. The old man won't tell on him no matter what, but he won't admit to anything either", Bellamy explained.

"So we need to find Cage?" Raven dug out her phone and flipped through it. "It's this guy, right?" She held it up, showing a picture of the Wallace son.

"Yup, that's him."

"We haven't been able to find him in months. How are we going to find a ghost?" Bellamy asked.

"He's out there. He has to be", Monty pushed his beer over to Miller. "I think I could find him."

"How?"

"It's better you don't know everything. But I'm going to need my laptop."

Miller sighed. "It's in evidence, isn't it?"

"Did you ransack my place?" Monty asked Bellamy.

"All I know is that they didn't find a computer. They searched for it and once you were gone they added surveillance, but it's not at the station."

"Excellent. I'm going to need to get it."

Raven leaned back in her chair. "Are you sure you have enough? I mean, the Wallaces are rich as hell. Can you be sure they won't just pay their way out of it?"

"I don't know what else we could get. Although..."

"What?"

Bellamy scratched his chin, glancing at Miller, then Monty and away just as quickly. "We haven't had inside information no matter how we've tried. No insider has been able to get into the ring. So we've always been a step behind."

Miller was about to tell him off, but Monty covered his hand with his own. He gave Miller a pleading look, and he stayed quiet.

"What kind of information would you need?"

"Catching you was a huge step for us because once we struck a deal, we could be sure that we had a testimony. People talking is the best way to get us to court. That's why Cage keeps getting rid of people."

"So you need witnesses?"

"Basically."

"How should I --"

"No. No way", Miller interrupted him. "What are we really doing here? We're going to keep all this under wraps from the force all while making sure no one from the ring finds you? Bell, when did this even become an option?"

Before Bellamy could say anything, Monty turned to glare at Miller. "You know it's the only way. The cops have nothing. If we do nothing, they will find me. They already almost got me once."

"That's not fair. You were being an idiot and called Jordan."

"Well guess what!" Monty held up his hands. "I'll probably keep being an idiot. So what are you going to do? Are you in or not?"

Miller kicked the leg of his chair. "You know I'm in. I just don't think it's a good idea that you go out there."

Monty's face softened. "Of course you'll have to be there to keep an eye on me, right?"

Miller shrugged, not looking at him. "It's still my job, is it not?" He glanced up and noticed both Bellamy and Raven staring at them with their chins leaning on their palms. Monty followed his gaze, and he sneaked a look when he was looking away. His cheeks were slightly tinted pink. Miller wanted to leave the room.

"Anyway", Raven's grin was far too wide for his liking. "What about after we find Cage and have your witnesses?"

"We bring him in and hopefully the DA knows what they're in for. Our work ends there."

"I'm not super confident in our odds."

"That's a pretty safe way to feel about this."

 

\--

 

"So how much time do we have?" Monty asked. He leaned on the wall casually, but Miller could tell he was anything but.

Miller glanced at his watch. "The guy smoking at the corner will leave in a few minutes. The next one will be here in twenty minutes tops."

"We'll better be out in ten then, huh?"

"Just concentrate."

"I'm concentrating by babbling. Get used to it."

Miller just rolled his eyes. The guy at the corner put out his cigarette and pulled out his phone as he started walking. They walked to the door quickly and stepped inside the building.

"The lights don't work", Monty whispered when he reached for the switch.

"Okay, lead the way."

"The elevator doesn't work", Monty said as he led him towards the stairs.

"I love what they've done with the place."

"I hope you know I expect to see your place sometime."

He had to stop getting so flustered every time Monty said something out of the ordinary. It meant nothing and thinking about Monty in his kitchen or in his bed helped no one. At least it was dark.

"Here we are", Monty dug out his keys and fit one in the lock.

The apartment was a mess. Monty was looking around with his mouth hanging open as Miller made sure the door was locked again.

"Cops really are pigs, aren't they?" Monty grumbled. "They could've at least cleaned up after themselves."

"Not part of the job."

"What a dream, getting to be an asshole all day."

"Where's the laptop, Monty?"

He walked into the bedroom. Miller watched as he climbed on a chair and reached up to move one of the ceiling panels. He stood on his tiptoes to get the laptop.

"Don't tell the landlord", Monty grinned, swaying slightly as handed it over. He set the panel back in place before jumping down. "How much time do we have?"

"Not much. Get a bag or something to put this in. We need to go."

They both froze as they heard the door opening. Miller pointed at the closet. He shut the door just as the front one closed. They stood still and listened.

Footsteps moved through the apartment and came into the bedroom. They didn't stop there, though.

"Is he _peeing_?" Monty hissed.

"Shut up."

"Miller, the guy's in my bathroom. This is my place."

He covered Monty's mouth with his hand. His lips were curled downward until the door went again.

"What a great day. My house is trashed, random people come in to use the bathroom, and I'm back in the closet."

Miller pushed the door open and pulled him outside. "Less whining, more getting out of here."

"Can't you see that I'm upset?"

He turned back to look at him. "Sorry. But it's not like you could come back here."

"Great so I'm homeless now too."

Miller's eyes widened as his started watering.

"My oldest friend is dead. I have nowhere to go. I could be murdered any second."

Miller wrapped his arms around him before his lip started wobbling. He didn't say anything, but Monty didn't seem to mind, tucking his face into the crook of his neck. So he just held on.

"Uh, thanks", Monty said when he pulled away, wiping his face with his sleeve.

"No problem."

He led Monty out of the apartment. Unsure of where the new guy would be, he told Monty to keep his head down.

 

\--

 

Bellamy had left for work when they got back. Raven opened the door the second they knocked like she'd been waiting for them.

"Did everything go as planned?" she asked. "Why do you look so miserable? What did you do?"

"Me?" Miller frowned. "I didn't do anything."

She gave Monty a questioning look. He just waved her off. "Let's just get to work."

He set up at the table. Miller went to get some water. He was leaning against the counter when Raven appeared next to him.

"You know how I met Bellamy?"

"No?"

"They wanted eyes on me. Bellamy was put on the job. I obviously knew about it right away so I just humored him a little by going to all these sketchy looking places. He took it for a good two weeks until I let him off the hook. I went to a bar and bought him a drink because he looked like he needed it.

He told me he was on a surveillance gig like that because his partner got shot. Was still in the hospital too, didn't look so good. I just listened to him. It wasn't me they were after so I promised to come to the station to see if I could help with something. It'd keep them off my tracks for a while and Bellamy would get to stop following me around."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked, eyes on the floor.

"He told me later how different it was to actually know me rather than just having read my file. That no matter what he knew, there was really no changing how he felt. We just happened. It's supposed to go against everything you're about, but there was no fighting it."

"So?"

Raven shrugged. "Sometimes it just happens. It's not the worst thing in the world."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't", Raven patted his shoulder.

Miller grabbed another bottle and took it to Monty to get out of the situation. He hadn't really known what Bellamy had been up to while he was in the hospital. Maybe it wasn't fair to blame him for what happened then. He'd always been in love with love. He probably figured it could win even over the law.

He sat down next to Monty and placed the bottle on the table. Monty stopped typing and flashed him a smile.

"So what are you doing now?"

"Running a face recognition program. It's gonna take a good while but if it works out, I should be able to track Cage."

"What if he's left the country?"

"Then I'll have to find when he did", Monty took a sip. "Maybe you should go sleep for a bit now."

"Why?"

"You look tired."

"I'm fine."

"Whatever you say", he shrugged, turning back to his work.

He sat there for a little longer, ignoring the feeling of Raven's eyes on him. Finally he gave up and went to lie on the couch. He caught the smile that tugged at Monty's lips even though he didn't look up from the screen.

 

\--

 

Days passed and Monty's program was working night and day. He'd gotten into the city's surveillance system and had the program looking for a match to Cage anywhere since he went underground.

Miller was going a little crazy. In the house he'd at least been able to go outside whenever he wanted. He knew they were too close to, well, everything for him to take any risks, but the walls of Raven's apartment were starting to close in.

Bellamy brought in the news that they were planning on switching him out. He didn't know who would replace him yet. Miller didn't want to hear any of it. But it was a risk on its own to consider disappearing. If Bellamy told their supervisors he'd lost contact with them, how long would it take till they came after them?

He didn't have the answers.

As the program was running, it was time for them to go find Monty's contacts. Raven was working her own at the garage, but Monty knew people closer to the ring. Miller still didn't like it, but at least Monty wasn't fighting him coming along.

They spent a day trying to find some girl Monty used to know. He seemed to think she was their best bet. She just happened to be very difficult to find.

Finally they reached her. The day was gray and rainy that early in the morning. They'd found their way to a nearly deserted beach and under a pier. The first thing Miller noticed about the woman waiting for them was the shake of her hands. She took long drags from her cigarette as she watched them approach.

"Hey, Maya. How are you?"

Instead of answering, Maya eyed Miller from head to toe and grinned. "You've upgraded."

"Careful. He's my 'protective custody'."

Maya raised a brow. "Bodyguard?"

"Cop."

Her smile dropped. "You're helping to snatch your friends now, huh?"

"It's not like that. We're with Raven. We're trying to get Cage so all of this can be over."

Maya laughed dryly. "It's never really over."

"It can be. If we make sure he goes away", Monty insisted.

"So what do you want from me?"

"I want to talk to some people on the inside. I know you're out, but you can help us."

"Us?"

"He's helping me, My. I wouldn't bring him if I didn't need him. They've already come after me."

"And now you're leading the dogs to me."

"No. I just need to know you'll testify against them."

Maya crossed her arms tightly. "The second I agree they'll be after me too. They always find out."

"We can keep you safe. If you come to Raven's with us."

"I don't know, Monty. I can't be sure. But I'll get you the names you need, alright?"

Monty smiled sadly at her. "Thank you."

Maya pulled out a tissue from her pocket and scribbled something on it. Then she handed it over and hugged Monty briefly. "In case we don't meet again."

"Think about Raven's, okay?"

She just squeezed his shoulder before walking away. Monty stared after her, the tissue still clutched in his hand.

"You think she'll come?" Miller asked quietly.

"I don't know."

"How does she tie into all this?"

"She, um -- She got messed into it through, uh - through Jasper. I'm not sure what she did before getting out. But she's never quite been the same."

"I hope she shows up then."

Monty sighed heavily. "Me too."

 

\--

 

"I've got nothing", Raven slumped into the armchair, rubbing her temples. "I know no snitches."

Monty rolled his eyes without looking up from his screen. Miller had no idea what he'd been doing for the past twenty minutes.

"Did you find something?"

"Monty has his ways", Miller snorted, earning another eye-roll from Monty.

"I got the address of someone who could help. But I don't trust them. I'm not sure if we should even try."

"Who are they?"

"Clarke's in charge of shipping for the whole area here and --"

"Griffin?" Raven made a face. "Yikes."

"Why would she want to help?" Miller frowned.

"That's the thing I'm not sure of. The reality is that they must know the ring is going down. So maybe for a deal they could get on board."

"Can you even offer something like that?" Raven asked Miller.

"Depends. Monty, who's the rest of 'them'?"

"That's another thing. Her girlfriend's wanted for a big storage bust earlier this year. So maybe a deal to cut their sentences or something. I don't know."

Miller rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Do you have like a newsletter or did you just really lie about not being connected."

"I really lied about not being connected. But! Without my phone or laptop I was pretty useless so it wasn't all a lie."

He accepted the answer. "Well, there's a chance all we can offer is a shared cell."

"You'd really try to go for Clarke?" Raven didn't look convinced.

"How do you know her?" Miller asked, actually curious.

"We were... involved at one point. It was a long time ago, though. Before she got all high and mighty."

"And the plot thickens", Monty whispered, making Miller laugh. "Okay, but seriously. We have to decide if we'll try it."

"What could she do?"

"Without any kind of offer, I'm not sure. Depends on how bad things are looking for her. I'm sure she has plenty of ways to get out of the country. But I don't know why she hasn't taken them yet."

"The girlfriend is still out, though?"

"Yeah."

"What would happen if we failed?"

Monty bit his lip. "We'd either be dead on the spot or have a whole new group of people after us."

"Maybe Bell could find out if there's anything to offer?" Raven suggested.

"Or we just leave it. It's too big of a risk."

"But --"

"Seriously, Miller. It's not worth it."

He stared at Monty but he wasn't looking back. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We'll figure something else out."

"Probably for the best to leave her out of this", Raven agreed. She jumped up and disappeared into the bathroom.

Miller wasn't sure what to do. Monty rested his head on his shoulder, the laptop set down next to him.

"Don't worry", Monty said softly.

"I'd stop if I could."

 

\--

 

Miller woke up with a gasp. After a moment of disoriented blinking he was back to the living. His head was a fuzzy mess. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was Monty giggling against his side and Raven suggesting shots.

"Morning, sunshine."

He looked up to see Raven waving at him from the armchair. "What the fuck?"

"I didn't know you had such a bad tolerance."

Miller pushed himself up and rubbed his eyes. "I don't."

"You had like two beers, dude."

"Where's Monty?"

Raven glanced over her shoulder. "Sleeping in my bed. You were taking the whole couch."

"No, he's not."

"Excuse me?"

"You don't let anyone sleep in your bed except Bell."

"Right. What are you a detective now?"

"Raven. Where's Monty?"

She grimaced, tightening her ponytail to buy some time before answering. "Not... here."

Miller stood up but the room turned suddenly and he fell back on the couch. "God fucking -- Raven! Did you fucking rufie me?"

" _I_ didn't --"

He shot her a glare.

"Okay, so I helped. But it wasn't a rufie. It was a safe prescription drug. Just to... knock you out for the night."

"Why?"

Raven didn't answer. Miller tried to stare her down but she didn't look him in the eye.

"You let him go alone?"

"He does what he wants!"

"He could get himself killed!"

"He won't."

"Raven! What the fuck?"

"Just relax."

"No. Don't tell me to fucking relax." He got up more carefully now and stomped into the bathroom.

Getting ready as quickly as possible, he tried to clear his head. Monty had a head start but there had to be a way for him to find him. And once he did, he'd attach a fucking tracker on the kid. He was getting sick of always being one step behind.

_It's too big of a risk. It's not worth it. We'll figure something else out._ Yeah, fuck off.

Raven tried a gentler approach on him when he got out, but he shot her down right away. "I need to get out of here."

"You shouldn't go after him. You can't find him."

"I don't care. I'm not just going to sit here and wait."

He got to the front door and opened it only to find a woman standing behind it with her hand raised like she was about to knock. They stared at each other for a moment before she cleared her throat.

"Um. Does Raven live here?"

"She does", Raven peeked over Miller's shoulder. "Who's asking?"

"I'm Harper. Monty told me to come around."

"Oh! Well any friend of Monty's is a friend of mine... apparently", Raven physically pushed Miller out of the way. "Come on in."

Miller shut the door behind her, earning a victorious grin from Raven. Monty was clearly getting around on his own.

"So what can I do for you?" Raven asked as they walked up the stairs.

"He told me to come here. If I'll testify that is. Said it'd be safe."

"And you will?"

Harper nodded. "Yeah. I mean, if you'll need me."

Raven led her to sit at the table."What do you have?"

"I was on the accounting side. I have plenty of data from the money transfers. You'd imagine they'd make sure there's no traceable evidence."

"You're out now?" Miller asked, taking a seat next to Raven.

"Well... for the most part." Harper shrugged nonchalantly. "I do what I have to do."

"They still have eyes on you?"

"They have eyes on everyone", she scoffed. "I'm just making sure they have no reason to come after me like they did with Monty."

"You helped cover up for what he stole, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"Where is he now?"

Harper gave him an odd look. "Who?"

"Monty."

She turned to Raven. "You lost Monty too?"

"Miller did."

He leaned back in his chair, running a hand over his face. "And whose fault is that?"

Raven ignored him. "I think I need to go get an extra bed."

 

\--

 

Raven took Harper with her when she left for work, leaving Miller alone in the apartment to pace. Apparently she wanted some help with her finances too. He opted to stay back and wait for Monty to return.

When he finally heard the door open, he'd been staring at the wall for what felt like hours. Monty noticed quickly that Raven wasn't there and his expression turned to cautious. To buy himself some time, he slowly took off his coat and hung it carefully. Miller just stood where his latest lap was interrupted without saying a word.

"Miller, I'm --"

He interrupted immediately. "Have I done something to hurt you?"

Monty looked confused. "What?"

"Did I do something to you?"

"No?"

"Then why do you have to be such an ass? Do you get that if you'd died, it would've been on me. You're still under _my_ protection."

Monty narrowed his eyes. "Right. Your job is on the line."

"That's not what -- You know that's not all I mean."

"Do I?"

"Why do we keep being like this?" Miller exclaimed. "We go back and forth; sometimes trusting each other, sometimes not. It doesn't work like that!"

"Maybe you should just kiss me again until you feel a little better."

"You really think I've been kissing you to 'feel a little better'?" he snapped. "That I'm not actually really fucking worried about your safety?"

"Well you have to be, don't you?"

"Are you trying to antagonize me into kissing you again? Maybe it's you with the problem here. You're keeping up your everything's a joke -policy. How's that working for you?"

"I'm just fine, thanks", Monty sneered.

"I really thought we were making progress."

"On what? Please do tell, Miller. What can we make progress on? What exactly could we become with progress? Like this isn't just an abnormal phase to you, and afterwards you'll just go back to your life."

"Well, that's certainly something we've never discussed."

Monty huffed out a bitter laugh. "Maybe it's best we don't."

"What do you mean?" he frowned.

"Whatever this has been... it should stop. We should stop."

Miller kept his face neutral. "I -- I mean, yeah. Sure. You're the one who's been pushing it, anyway."

"Right. Yeah."

Monty's indifferent tone made irritation bubble inside him, but he didn't know what to say without giving him the upper hand. He wanted to get out of there. "Don't ever drug me again, you hear me?"

Monty didn't say anything so pushed past him and walked out of the apartment.

 

\--

 

Raven and Bellamy caught on the discomfort between them quickly. Even Raven stayed quiet about it.

Monty moved to sleep on the floor with Harper. Miller didn't mind not getting kicked throughout the night, but still he didn't get much sleep since then.

It felt nearly impossible to approach the case clinically anymore. He couldn't remember the last time he did so. So he kept his distance. Monty was working with Raven and Harper on god knows what, and didn't seem bothered.

He was standing outside the building, deep in thought, when Bellamy came out. Without a word he joined Miller, leaning against the wall next to him.

"Are we cool?" he asked.

Miller turned to look at him. They hadn't really talked in a long time, but he hadn't exactly been thinking about it lately. "Yeah. We're cool."

Bellamy smiled and elbowed him lightly. He got serious just as quickly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Raven. I mean _really_ tell you."

"It's okay. I get it. Okay - maybe I don't completely get it. But it's fine anyway. You were just protecting her."

Bellamy frowned. "Miller, I wasn't protecting her. It was never about me not trusting you."

"What was it then?"

"I wanted to make sure you'd stay out of whatever mess I was in. Raven's my number one priority, but I knew what I was getting into. I didn't want to force you to choose."

Miller considered him for a while. "I guess that makes sense. But... were you ever going to tell me?"

"I was! Before the wedding at least..."

He huffed in amusement. "I guess it's better than nothing."

Bellamy grinned and he couldn't help returning it. He'd never been able to fight his partner.

"So... now that I've confessed to my sins, do you want to share anything?"

"Nope", Miller said quickly.

Bellamy gave him a chastising look. "Miller. Something's clearly off. Everyone can see it."

"I don't know what to tell you."

"Well tell me about Monty. It's obvious you like him."

"I don't _like_ him."

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "You haven't had a date in - what? - four years? At least. You've only known the guy for a few months and you already slept with him. It's _something_ for you."

"It's not like me", Miller sighed.

"I'm not accusing you of anything. You were stuck with him for a month straight. It makes sense you got to know him."

"I don't know what happened. For years whenever I felt attracted to someone, I didn't even process it. It got filed away immediately like junk mail. I made sure I didn't have to think about it. I mean I'm not closeted --"

"You're a little closeted", Bellamy noted.

"Fine. I'm a little closeted. But out of my own will. I'm a private person. My dad was the biggest influence I had and I wanted to make it in the force. I did what I did. But when I was there at the house, I..."

"What?"

Miller could feel his cheeks burning as he stared at the wall of the opposite building. "All I knew in that moment was that I wanted to sleep with him. And I didn't _care_ about anything else. Clearly it was a mistake, but it was... something else too."

"And what's changed now?"

"He's just a kid, Bell. No matter what he says or how he acts, he's a kid. He has this act he does and it comes easily to him. Because he's so talented. He has to know how to handle everything and everyone. But he's 23. What does he know? When he was in that car with the bomb, he was scared to death. Scared of dying, being left alone."

Bellamy stayed quiet, expecting him to continue.

"I don't blame him for changing his mind. I don't know if there was actually anything to change. He slept with me so he could run. I was the fool who fell for it."

"It doesn't sound that simple."

Miller laughed tiredly. "Does it ever?"

"Have you told him any of this?"

"I don't think he cares. I don't think he really trusts me either. But it's fine. My job is to keep him alive. That's what I'll do."

Bellamy wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry."

Miller just shrugged, leaning into him.

 

\--

 

An unrecognizable beeping rang loudly through the apartment, making everyone jump out of their skins. It took a moment before Monty realized it was his laptop. They all gathered around him to see what it was.

On the screen dozens of pictures were popping up. The program had finally located Cage and was now bringing up all the hits of him. They watched in silence as the pictures piled up on the screen before finally stopping.

Monty jumped into action. "I have matches for security guards now. And cars. I'll find him."

"I always knew you were tech savvy but damn", Harper chuckled.

They sat around for another hour. The only sound in the room was Monty's fingers on the keyboard. Harper was on her phone, most relaxed out of all of them. Bellamy had his arm on the back of Raven's chair while she wrapped a strand of her hair around her finger over and over again. Miller kept his eyes on the tabletop so he wouldn't end up just staring at Monty.

He'd been better. All the silence had him feeling just more unfocused than before. He needed to do his job and figure it all out. They were finally getting somewhere.

"Guys, I -- I think I got him."

"Are you sure?" Raven climbed over the back of the couch to sit next to Monty, who had finally stopped typing.

"I'm pretty sure."

They all stared at the map on the screen. "I can't believe it actually worked", Raven huffed, squeezing Monty's shoulder. "People should be very afraid of you."

"We should get ready. We need to call for backup and get a ride and..." Bellamy pulled out his phone and Raven followed him to the hall where the reception was better.

"Miller, can I talk to you for a second?"

He looked up to meet Monty's eyes. "Sure."

Monty led him to the window. When he started talking, he was no longer looking him in the eye. "I want you off the case."

Miller froze at the words, unable to talk.

"My case, that is. I think it's better you go. Someone's going to have to come take me in soon anyway. I'd like it to not be you. So you should go."

"You want me to... go."

"Yes."

His lips were pressed in a tight line as he waited for Monty to look at him. It should be the only confirmation he needed. When Monty finally did, he could feel his stomach drop. His gaze was unwavering and calm.

"You can help them with the case. You know it. I don't need you here anymore."

To his horror, Miller could feel his eyes prickling. He cleared his throat and glanced over to where Bellamy and Raven weren't even pretending to not be watching. "Fine. I guess I should go then. I'll get someone sent in."

Monty just gave him a smile that didn't reach his eyes, stepping out of his way. He was almost out of the apartment when he heard Bellamy following him.

"Miller, hold up. I'm coming with you."

"You need to stay with Monty."

"Raven will take care of him. Come on", Bellamy rubbed his shoulder, guiding him out of the building.

 

\--

 

During the cab drive to the station, Miller tried not to think about Monty. He focused on the streets passing by, the radio, anything else. But it didn't work.

It wasn't the right time to sort through _those_ feelings, though. He needed to focus. They'd get Cage today.

At the station, they headed straight for their supervisor's office. The door was slightly ajar and Bellamy stopped Miller before he could knock.

"Have the rest of it sent to evidence. It's time to finish this for good."

"And Miller?"

They glanced at each other, inching closer to hear better while pretending to be having a silent conversation for the security cameras.

"Does Blake still have contact?"

"Yes."

"Have him bring Miller and the suspect in. We've clearly underestimated Green. Jordan's death had meaning after all. Green can still act as a witness, but he'll be prosecuted to the fullest."

Bellamy frowned at him, but Miller just shook his head.

"Is there previous evidence of him distributing?"

"There's really no need since Jordan's apartment was a goldmine. But his original arrest was for a large possession that he claimed to be Jordan's."

Miller signaled for them to leave and they walked calmly right back outside. They found a spot without any cameras and leaned heavily against the wall.

"What the hell? I thought you said Monty wasn't a dealer?"

Miller shook his head. "He's not. I'm sure of it. It's got to be Jordan. They said it themselves. There was no sign of it until Jordan's apartment. He must've framed him."

"But he's dead."

"He died after giving away Monty's location. Clearly he was trying to make sure he'd get killed. They just didn't find him of any use once he gave it away."

"Framing Monty could've been a precautionary measure", Bellamy nodded. "We need to go tell them. When you go tell them about switching you out, they'll send someone to arrest him if they don't know."

Miller stared at him. His mind was whirring, connecting dots all too fast. "Son of a..."

"What?"

"He planned this."

"Who?"

"Monty. Once I went back to tell everyone what we knew, they wouldn't let me back out on the field again. He's making sure I won't be there when they go after Cage. Did Raven tell you to come after me?"

Bellamy opened his mouth and closed it. "She wouldn't do that to me."

"Wouldn't she, though? Monty must've told her what he's planning. And it must've been stupid enough that they agreed we needed to be out of the picture."

"What you're implying is pretty heavy. He could just be a master manipulator and a drug dealer."

Miller held out his hands. "Or I'm right. And they're going to go after Cage on their own somehow."

"Why would they do that? It'd be best for everyone if we just took him in. Why would Monty want to go after him?"

"I don't know."

Bellamy buried his face in his hands.

"Unless it's not him who wants to go after Cage."

"What do you mean? Explain Miller. I can't read your thoughts."

"Okay, okay, okay. Hear me out. That day Monty disappeared. What if he found someone who promised to help him make it all go away."

"We have no proof of any of this. We need to go back and --"

"Bellamy! Miller!"

They turned to see Wells and Monroe walking towards them across the yard.

"Hey!"

"I didn't know you were back", Wells said, hugging him briefly.

"I'm not, actually. It's complicated", Miller grimaced.

Bellamy lit up suddenly. "But you can help us."

He realized immediately what he meant. Together they explained the situation as quickly as they possibly could. The others listened intently, Wells even digging out a notepad.

"I'll call you from Raven's apartment. Once we're done, you can come search the place. We'll make sure you know exactly where we're going next."

"Alright."

"Just don't do anything stupid, okay?" Monroe said. "Wait till we get there with SWAT. You know these people are told to not go down without a fight."

"Don't worry. We have a detour to take ourselves."

Bellamy raised a brow at him but he ignored it for now. Wells and Monroe went inside, and they left.

On the cab drive back, Miller hoped he was right about this.

 

\--

 

Raven's apartment was empty when they got there. Monty's stuff was still there, including his laptop. Bellamy opened it carefully to make sure all the information was still there while Miller went through the rest of the place.

"Raven's got nothing _incriminating_ here, right?"

"No. She's very careful."

"Good."

"So what are we going to do now?"

"I have a hunch. Do you have Harper's number?"

"Yeah." Bellamy handed over his phone.

Miller paced around the room while the call connected.

"Hey."

"Harper?"

"Miller?"

"Yeah. Don't hang up. Are you with Monty and Raven?"

"I'm with Raven. Why are you calling me?"

"I knew Raven wouldn't answer even Bellamy yet and Monty doesn't have a phone. Where is he?"

"I don't know."

From the background he heard Raven's voice. "Let me talk." Harper grumbled something but soon enough Raven's voice was in his ear. "Sup, Miller?"

"Where's Monty, Raven? Why isn't he with you?"

"He took off. I'm sorry. I didn't know he was planning something else. He just told me we should get away since you were out too. He knows what it feels like when cops don't listen to you."

"Do you have any idea where he could go?"

"I really don't know. It doesn't make sense."

"Okay. Just stay where you are and don't come back here. We're bringing the cops to our trail. They need to find Cage too."

"Tell them to not mess up the whole place or I'll kill them."

"Noted."

"Miller?"

"Yeah?"

"He's not mad at me, is he?"

Miller fought an eye-roll. "Is he ever?"

"Can I talk to him?"

"Just be _really_ quick." He handed back the phone and turned away so he didn't have to witness his friend's lovestruck face. It was so long since he'd been in his own home, alone.

They travelled ten minutes away from the apartment before finding a payphone. Miller called Wells and told him the house was clear.

"Where are you going now?" Wells asked.

"That I actually need help with. Can you get me everything you have on a Maya Vie?"

He could hear Wells typing for a moment. He repeated the addresses he got to Bellamy who wrote them down.

"Who's she?" Bellamy asked once the call was over.

"Monty's contact. She wrote him down some addresses. I want to know whose they were."

 

\--

 

They'd been to Maya's house before when they were looking for her. It was a bust again. The other one was her work address.

One of her coworkers directed them to the back alley of the bar. Maya looked up as they stepped outside, nearly dropping her cigarette.

"I already told you what I know", she said.

"I know. But Monty's gone. We need to find him. Whose address did you give him?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"It was someone Raven knew too. But I need to find them now. Monty might be going to them."

Maya raised a brow. "Why's that a problem?"

"We found where Cage is hiding. He's still out, but the arrest will happen soon. That is, unless something ruins it. I think Monty's planning something with whoever you sent him to. Something that can ruin the operation."

Maya worried her lip between her teeth. "You're sure you have his location?"

"Yes."

Maya sighed. She put out her cigarette and held out her hand. "Phone."

Bellamy handed her his. She typed down an address in the navigator. Miller knew it to be somewhere in an industrial area.

"Thank you."

Maya nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. The gesture reminded him of Monty.

"You knew Jasper Jordan, right?"

Maya grimaced but nodded again. "Why?"

"We think he's trying to frame Monty. Before he died he left his place looking like whatever he had there was Monty's. Raven said he wanted to climb ranks so it could be anything. Do you know why he'd have a grudge against Monty?"

Maya's expression only changed when Miller mentioned him being dead, her lips curling up slightly. "It's because he helped me."

"Monty?"

Maya nodded, empty stare on the brick wall. "He helped me pay my debts so I could get out."

"Why did it bother Jordan?" Bellamy asked.

"He didn't want me out", she smiled sardonically. "I'm much more _pleasant_ when I'm high."

Miller didn't know what to say. Maya's smile turned just a little sincerer when she noticed.

"Don't worry. I've been clean for almost three months."

Miller held out his hand. "May I?" he nodded towards the pen and notepad in her breast pocket. She handed them over and he wrote down his number. "If you ever need anything, you can call me."

"That's very kind of you", she accepted them back, "but I've learned not to ask favors from men."

"I understand", he nodded. "Thank you for your help."

They went back inside and exited the bar. Right before the door closed behind them, Miller looked back and saw Maya come inside, tucking a folded piece of paper under her shirt.

 

\--

 

"You know whose address we're being sent to?"

"Someone named Clarke. I can't remember the last name. She and her girlfriend rank pretty high in the ring, apparently."

"Why would Monty go to them?"

Miller sighed. "I have no idea. I suppose if he doesn't trust the system or, well, me, he could've been looking for someone who can make sure Cage doesn't get away. Maybe he figured out they'd all be better not working with the cops in case they get taken in too."

They'd taken a cab to a few blocks from the area and continued on foot. Not a soul had appeared in the last ten minutes.

"I've been thinking about quitting", Bellamy said suddenly.

"What?"

"Quitting the force. Raven and I want to leave the city. We'd go somewhere far away for a few years, live low for a bit. Then do whatever we want."

"Have you talked to O?"

"She's still in Europe. We don't talk that often. She's doing well, though."

"Maybe you could go visit her and... What's the wife's name again?"

Bellamy smiled. "Genevieve. I still don't know why they call her Fox, though. But yeah. Maybe."

Miller chuckled. "Somehow I can picture you and Raven in some backwater town, raising chickens."

"Why chickens?"

"I don't know."

Bellamy was about to object but instead he stopped in his tracks. "Hey, isn't this it?" He pulled out his phone. "It is. This is the property."

They kept walking, stepping off the road at the edge of the property. There were three buildings in the area, all the same size and appearance.

"You always wish you're too old to climb fences", Miller sighed, eyeing the high metal structure.

"Do you think they still have people inside, watching the cameras?"

"My guess is they've been evacuating slowly ever since Monty first visited. But either way, we need to go in."

They climbed the fence and circled the nearest building. It seemed to be empty so they moved on. Noises were coming from the second one and they found a garage door that was still slightly open. It had been a long time since the two of them had been in the field as partners, but they were doing alright so far.

Bellamy tugged him behind a shelf full of what looked like boxes full of sandbags, when someone walked in. A tall man with a long beard carried a box into the awaiting van before returning to where he came from. They followed him silently.

The space was nearly empty, the large shelves having been cleared. The man made his way past them towards the center, and they followed. A few of the shelves still had the same sand boxes on them so they sneaked behind them, as close to the center as they could get in the maze of metal.

From between the boxes they could see two women, one blonde and the other brunette, standing in the center of the room. The bearded man was in front of them with his back towards where they were hiding. The brunette signaled him to leave again and he did, now empty-handed.

As he left, behind him was revealed Monty, who was staring down the pair with his arms crossed over his chest. The relief of seeing him alive made Miller slightly lightheaded.

"Anyway", the blonde said. "We're all set to go now."

"What are exactly are you going to do? I gave you the coordinates and got rid of the cops so you could take care of this neatly. The Wallaces need to pay for everything they've done, Clarke. You know it too."

"Of course", the blonde, Clarke, smiled kindly. "We'll make sure Cage gets what he deserves. You don't have to worry."

"Why does it sound like a threat when you say that? A lot of people's lives depend on this working out. Mine included."

"She told you we'll take care of it", the brunette snapped.

"Lexa", Clarke gave her a warning look. "Calm down. Monty knows what we're capable of. That's why he's followed our instructions."

Lexa rolled her eyes, but visibly relented.

"The ring has been run poorly for years now. The cops are knocking at our doors daily. Sure, their arrest record isn't top notch, but they're doing their very best", Clarke pouted mockingly, making Lexa giggle. "Either way, Cage has known for a while that the end is nigh. Did you know he called the storage bust on his own people? The cops think he's gone underground to hide from them, when really it would've been smart of him to get himself into protective custody like his old man did before _I_ find him."

"He tried to cut you out?"

"He tried a little more than that. Enough so that he knows we'll hit back. He's been picking his people left and right, but even he can't work fast enough."

"Did Jasper Jordan work for you?" Monty asked, voice wavering just a bit.

"We're not interested in rats like him", Lexa scoffed. "He's with Cage. I mean", she smirked, " _was_."

"We heard he sold you out. Sad story", Clarke said.

"Yeah, well. Apparently he paid for it too."

"You know", Clarke pursed her lips, eyeing Monty, "we could use someone like you when we take over."

Miller could see all the way from there how Monty froze and recovered quickly. "Take over?"

"Yeah", Clarke shrugged. "We're going to kill Cage."

"You -- What? I thought you were going to --"

"We want to thank you for your assistance, Monty. But we'll take it from here. Please consider the offer if you ever need work."

The bearded man appeared behind him, delivering a sharp blow to the back of his head. Monty dropped like a ragdoll whose strings were cut. Bellamy grabbed Miller's arm when he winced.

Clarke pulled out her phone and checked something. "Tie him up and leave him there. We need to get going."

She took Lexa's hand and led her towards where the van was still parked. As they passed Miller and Bellamy's hiding spot, they could hear Lexa ask:

"What should we do first once we've taken over?"

"Whatever you'd like", Clarke promised, kissing her cheek.

 

\--

 

It felt like hours until the sound of the van disappeared. Miller ran over to where Monty had been lying completely still for the whole time.

"Monty?" he touched his cheek carefully. A quick check revealed a regular pulse and breathing.

"We need to let SWAT know. They need to stop them before they kill Cage", Bellamy was saying behind him, already dialing.

Miller let him do what he needed to do. He lifted Monty up as steadily as he could and carried him to the small guard's booth he'd spotted in one corner. Laying him down on the ground, Miller went to find something to wet. With a towel he returned to Monty.

"Come on. Wake up", he repeated as he stroked the hair off his forehead and pressed the cool towel to it.

After a few minutes Monty started to twitch slightly. First just his eyelids, then his hands and feet. Slowly his eyes fluttered open.

"Monty? Monty, can you hear me?"

He let out something incoherent, feeling around with his hand.

"Monty. Look at me. You need to wake up."

"Shut up, Miller", Monty muttered.

He could've laughed from relief. "You're okay."

Bellamy appeared in the doorway. "They're on their way now. We need to move."

"Hey, Bellamy. Nice to see you", Monty croaked.

"Good to see you too", Bellamy chuckled. "Can you stand?"

"Who knows? Do I still have legs?" Monty lifted his head. "There they are."

"Come on", Miller grabbed him under the arms and dragged him up. Monty's knees buckled so he wrapped an arm around his back. "There you go."

They walked slowly through the warehouse. Miller grabbed a pair of bolt cutters on their way. Bellamy told them the whole place was cleaned up except for the sand boxes.

"They're a joke", Monty said. "The boxes."

"How?"

"Cops are looking for bags of powder. They'll have to go through each and test everything. I don't know. They think it's funny."

"Wouldn't flour be a more obvious option?"

"It's a little old school."

"And you know this how?"

"I'm a quick learner", Monty grinned.

 

\--

 

Bellamy called Raven as they were walking. She wanted to tell Monty off for leaving, but he talked her out of it - for now.

"So... I did something bad", Raven admitted on speakerphone.

"What did you do?"

"I went back home --"

"Raven!"

"Hear me out! I snatched one of those CSI jackets from their car outside and just walked in. They were still on Monty's laptop. The program was still on, right? Well there was a new hit on Cage. He’s on the move. My guess is Clarke invited him somewhere where she’ll have home-field advantage.”

“Did you see where?”

“Yeah, but so did the others. They’ve already informed the teams on the move. But the thing is that you’re much closer.”

“Send us the address. We’re on foot but we’ll see what we can do.”

“Okay. Just be careful, okay? Don’t get yourself killed. I’m planning on marrying you, still.”

“I’ll do my best.”

He got a text from Raven just a second after ending the call.

“How far is it?”

“Fifteen minutes away.”

“What are we even going to do when we get there?” Monty asked. He was finally walking on his own.

“What were you going to with Clarke and Lexa?”

Monty’s cheeks turned red. “I didn’t know they were going to kill him. You know that.”

“Hey, guys. I promise you can have this fight another time”, Bellamy cut in. “I get that you have _a lot_ of issues to solve, but we’re trying to go stop a murder from happening.”

“Fine”, Miller huffed.

“I’d just want for Miller to acknowledge that I was trying to protect him. And that I thought I was doing the right thing to protect all of us”, Monty said, keeping his eyes forward.

“Well in that case I’d like Monty to recognize that he’s a fucking idiot.”

“Knock it off!” Bellamy demanded tiredly. “Murder. Focus.”

“Shit! Am I going to be an accomplice if they actually do it?”

“That could be your last problem”, Bellamy shot him an apologetic look.

“Jesus. What is it?”

“Jordan’s framing you. You already have one charge on your record even though it just went away in the end. They’re buying it so far.”

“Fuck”, Monty hissed. “Why the fuck would he do that? Fuck!”

“We went to see Maya Vie”, Bellamy explained. “She said he was mad because you helped her get out.”

“Great. Just great. So on top of everything else, I’ll go down for whatever he’s had time to work up for at least three months? Just fantastic.” Monty kicked at a rock angrily.

“It’s not set in stone yet.”

Monty scoffed. “Would you believe me?”

“I do believe you. And we’ll help you”, Bellamy promised sincerely.

They fell silent. Miller glanced at Monty, who was biting his lip anxiously. It felt like they were heading towards a finish line of some sort. He just needed to find a moment to tell Monty everything.

“I’d like on the record too that”, he ignored the warning look Bellamy shot him, “I think what you did for Maya was incredible. And I believe she’ll come to your aid if you need it.”

Monty smiled at him softly in gratitude. He didn’t let that feeling go unprocessed. It was a good feeling.

 

\--

 

Their destination was an abandoned mall. Miller eyed it, unimpressed. Why would anyone build a mall there and expect it to not become abandoned?

“I see Clarke has a flair for the dramatic”, Monty huffed.

Bellamy shushed him as they approached the gates. A body lay under it with a neat gunshot wound through the back of the head. “They’re here.”

“But is he Cage’s or Clarke’s?”

“I don’t think it matters for now. Let’s go. We have to find a way to distract them if we’re not too late.”

Inside the mall lay more bodies. They decided to split up to cover more ground. Monty went with Bellamy. He was glad he did. He’d trust Bellamy with his life any day.

The mall was eerily quiet. Miller headed for the third floor. His steps sounded awfully loud in the silence. A few more bodies littered the ground. He was starting to think Clarke had really taken that advantage. If these were all Cage’s men, there couldn’t be many left standing.

He got all the way up, only to be faced with a man in all black, holding a gun with a silencer. For those first few seconds he had the element of surprise and he knocked the man out with a loose brick he found on the ground. He fell with a thud, and Miller didn’t let go of the brick. He had his gun, but he was still hoping there would be no need to use it.

Voices were coming from one of the shops on his far right. He made his way there. It was strange how it seemed the only people there were dead. Where were all the killers? The man he knocked out couldn’t have killed everyone there.

It was definitely Clarke speaking. He couldn’t see her yet, though. The store used to be a clothing one; naked mannequins were leaning on each other sadly. Miller told himself he would never want to die in such a clichéd horror setting.

To his surprise he only found three people from the store. Clarke, Lexa and Cage were standing near the center of the store, just talking. There was a strange architectural choice near them: a see-through banister surrounding a deep drop to the lower floors. He had a bad feeling about that.

“And who are you?”

They were all staring at him now, Cage Wallace with disdain, Clarke with curiosity, and Lexa with disinterest. He dropped the brick and walked closer. None of them moved.

“I’m Miller. I’m with the NYPD.”

Clarke laughed. “You don’t look PD.”

“Well”, he shrugged, “I’ve been busy.”

“Wait, is he the guy with the geek one?” Lexa tilted her head at him. “You’re not very good at your job.”

“Are you looking for Monty Green?”

“Yes.” He was there to distract. “I am.”

Clarke offered him a sweet smile. “Well unfortunately he’s not here. And he was supposed to keep you out of this. So seems like both of you should consider a change of field.”

“You know where he is.”

“Of course we do. But we’re a little busy here as you can see. So off you go. I’m sure you’ll find him eventually.”

“Did you know all your men are dead?” Miller asked Cage. Lexa shot him a glare.

He gave him another look of distaste. “I wouldn’t be surprised when it comes to these ladies.”

“You know they’re going to kill you?”

“Of course he does”, Clarke snapped. “He’s just foolish enough to think we won’t succeed.”

Now Cage’s look was like one to a peer. “Can’t blame me for not thinking they don’t have the guts to do it. There’s a reason they’re not on top.”

Clarke let out a short, dry laugh. “You should know I don’t like being questioned.”

“You should know I do not care.”

Miller glanced at the ceiling. The guy had a death wish. “I know you want to kill him, but it’s not a good idea.”

“And why’s that?” Clarke raised a brow.

“You’re just gathering years to your sentence. If you let the cops take him in, you have a better chance of cutting a deal. For the both of you.”

“I won’t be going to court.”

“Let’s just do it so we can go”, Lexa moaned. “This is boring.”

“You should just go, Miller. No need for you to die tonight. You’re probably already fired with how bad you’re doing. Go gather the rest of your life and move on.”

“I can’t.”

Clarke let out a groan. “This is why I stopped dating men for good, I swear to god.”

“If he was really just looking for the kid, why is he still here?” Lexa narrowed her eyes at him. “You can’t stop this. Just go.”

“I’m starting to agree with them, man”, Cage said. “I don’t have all night.”

“Shut the fuck up. You won’t have all night.”

“How are you even planning on killing me?” Cage snorted, looking around the store. “I’m unarmed. This is not a fair fight.”

“There won’t be a fight. You’ll jump.”

Cage’s eyebrows rose high. “I’ll jump?”

“Yes”, Clarke smiled smugly. Lexa grinned where she was leaning on the banister. “You’ll jump.”

Cage burst into laughter. “If you’re going to really do this, you’ll have to do it yourself. Push me, knock me out, whatever. But there’s no way I’m jumping.”

Clarke pulled out a gun. Miller took a step back instinctively.

“Either way. You’ll jump or you’ll fall. It’s all the same to me. It’s not hard to get rid of a gun. I won’t mind.”

“You think she’ll shoot me?” Cage turned to ask Miller.

Clarke sighed and took a shot at his feet. Cage yelped loudly and took a step back towards the banister.

“Clarke. You don’t have to do this”, Miller tried. She didn’t even look at him. He didn’t know how much more time there was to spend. Bellamy and Monty must’ve heard the shot, as did anyone else still inside.

“It’s your call, mister Wallace”, Clarke declared calmly.

The bearded man from the warehouse ran in suddenly through the other door, out of breath, gun in hand. Miller could see Monty and Bellamy running after him, but they weren’t there yet.

“Ma’am. The cops. They’re coming. SWAT team’s at the door.”

Lexa let out a frustrated growl and reached for the gun in Clarke’s hand. Simultaneously the man noticed Miller. Monty and Bellamy had just reached the door when the shot rang in the air.

Miller’s ears were ringing lightly, but he could tell everyone was yelling. Clarke at the man, Lexa at Cage, Monty at him. Bellamy was holding him back, the look on his face one of terror.

He looked down at the blood soaking his shirt. The wound was in his abdomen but he couldn’t really feel it. The room felt a little shaky, though. The SWAT team rushed inside. One of them bumped into him and he lost his balance. Another one caught him. He recognized the leader of the team, Lincoln, calling for help. His hand was pressing at his stomach, but it didn’t feel nice.

Bellamy was there, hovering over him. He was still holding onto Monty who seemed to still be screaming. Miller tried to shake his head to make his ears pop, but it only made the room shake more. A voice was telling him to not move. He listened.

When they told him to not close his eyes, he didn’t.

 

\--

\--

\--

\--

\--

\--

\--

 

Bellamy was talking about Raven. He could hear it. Was this what hell was like?

_“She definitely made me think making the first move was my idea. She was always a step ahead of me. Ever since the beginning.”_

_Please_ stop, Bell.

_“She didn’t see the proposal coming, though. Can you imagine? I won. She was so surprised she almost forgot to answer. Of course she said yes.”_

He tried lifting his arm so he could smack him, but it wouldn’t move. Definitely hell. His dad was right then.

_“I don’t know how she loves me if I’m honest. She could have anyone. Not that I’m complaining, of course.”_

Why.

_“I know I should disapprove of what she does. But honestly, it’s kind of hot. Or maybe it’s just her. I never had a chance.”_

No one deserved _this_.

_“I always thought I wanted to do good, you know? I didn’t know how to think of it at first, but I realized I’d never meet anyone like her.”_

There had to be a way out. Something, anything.

_”O used to_ hate _me for always making prettier cards on Valentine’s Day and such. Raven hates all that stuff. But I know she still has the card I made her.”_

If there was a god, they weren’t a merciful one.

_”The first night I spent at her house, I was sure she’d throw me out. I was so nervous for some reason. But she let me stay. I made her breakfast the next morning. Then I had to swear to let her do it from then on.”_

“Alright”, Miller forced his eyes open. “Please be quiet. Oh my god.”

Bellamy’s mouth was hanging open. Miller watched as he tried to speak, but instead his eyes started to water, and suddenly Miller wished he hadn’t woken up yet after all.

The grip Bellamy had on his hand was crushing. “I was so worried, Miller. I was sure you were going to die. Again.”

“It was close”, he muttered. “I was hoping the end was near so I wouldn’t have to listen to you anymore.”

Bellamy laughed wetly, smacking a kiss on the back of his hand. “Raven didn't think it'd work, but I knew you'd shut me up at some point... You’re not allowed to get shot. Ever again. You hear me?”

“Copy.” He looked around in the brightly lit hospital room. His eyelids were already starting to weigh tons. “Is Raven okay? Harper?”

“They’re fine. They’re fine.”

He was almost scared to ask. “And Monty?”

“He’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Did they bring him in?”

Bellamy grimaced. “Yeah.” At the look on his face, he made an alarmed noise. “But don’t worry. I’m going to help him. I’ll get him out. I’ll keep him safe. Promise.”

“Does he know?”

“What?”

“That I’m alive.”

“He knows you’re not dead. I’ll tell him, I promise.”

“Tell him we still need to have that fight”, Miller yawned, unable to open his eyes anymore. “He won’t get away that easy.”

“I will”, Bellamy chuckled. “Just sleep. I’ll try to be here when you wake up.”

“Wait! What happened to them? Clarke and the Wallaces. Lexa.”

“They have Cage, I know that. But I’m not sure about the rest. I’ll find out. Seriously, you’re already half asleep. Just sleep.”

“Fine. Fine”, he mumbled, squeezing Bellamy’s hand back weakly.

 

\--

\--

 

The stairwell of his building felt almost strange to him. He couldn’t remember the last time he was home, slept in his own bed, showered in his own bathroom. It was so long ago.

Bellamy helped him up the stairs, slowly but surely, carrying his things for him. He was mothering him and Miller pretended to hate it.

He didn’t say much, but Bellamy kept talking anyway. They’d arrested Lexa, but Clarke had somehow vanished. No one knew how. But Lexa was waiting trial alongside the Wallaces.

“Do you think she’ll come back for her?” Miller asked, five steps in. He hated steps.

Bellamy nodded. “Yeah, I think she wouldn’t leave her. I just don’t want to know how it’ll go down. And I wouldn’t want to stand between Clarke and what she wants.”

“They did seem to love each other”, Miller hummed in agreement. His gut was throbbing meanly. He hated steps.

Maya hadn’t contacted him so far. Miller asked Bellamy to casually go check up on her. Apparently he took Raven to the bar she worked at. Maya wasn’t very happy about it. Still, she told them proudly that she was still clean. She sent her best to Miller with the message to stop stalking her. He gave the address to Harper when she visited and told her she could go see what her good deed had achieved. Raven smacked him after hearing about it, accusing him of trying to play matchmaker. Apparently his track record wasn’t good enough for that.

“Your building really needs an elevator”, Bellamy stated at thirteen steps.

“Usually it’s good exercise”, Miller panted. It was possible he needed a break. “I don’t think I’m supposed to be doing this much.”

“I’m supervising you. It’s fine”, Bellamy grinned.

“Raven would be nice to me.”

“Raven would be worse and you know it.”

“True”, he admitted grudgingly.

Raven’s apartment had been for sale for a while. No wedding plans had been made yet, they claimed. Miller bet Bellamy had. He didn’t ask, though. He didn’t ask about her business either. It seemed that she was dropping out of the game. She probably had enough money and more for them to live comfortably wherever they wished. Once when she visited, she told Miller about the time she got shot. It was just a scratch, but apparently her hip still ached when it rained. Bellamy listened in horror. She told both of them to suck it up. Miller claimed he had to be given a break since it was his second time.

“I think I’ll just stay here. I can go home tomorrow”, Miller sighed, sitting down on the first step of the second flight.

“I’m getting you there no matter how long it takes.”

“How about I shoot you and then we try?”

“Come on, Miller. Think about getting to sleep!”

He didn’t move. Bellamy sighed and sat next to him.

“A break is fine too", he said softly.

Miller leaned against his side, suddenly so tired.

"You're doing really well. Not many people can say that about the second time they're shot. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks", he whispered. "I'm trying."

Bellamy had quit his job in the police force. He said it was the strangest feeling. Like a weight had been lifted. He didn't have to be afraid he'd never see his family anymore. Miller knew he was afraid to say it, but they were leaving. He didn't know when, but it was going to happen. None of them ever brought it up. He hoped they knew he'd support them.

"Okay, you ready? Last ones."

"I'm never leaving my apartment again after this", he grumbled. Holding onto Bellamy, he kept walking.

"You've deserved it."

"This is quite literally the biggest achievement of my life", Miller snorted. He had to stop to laugh with Bellamy. It still hurt if something was too funny.

Bellamy had kept his promise. He told Miller one day that Monty had been let go. Maya had visited the courtroom, and he'd been declared innocent for the framed things. Miller made Bellamy swear to look after him. Parts of the ring were still out there, and he didn't trust anyone enough to play it safe. There was never talk of him visiting. Bellamy just said that Monty had gotten his message and that he was safe. He'd take what he could get.

"We made it! Look at you!" Bellamy rejoiced. "It wasn't so hard, was it?"

"It took me like a half an hour", Miller deadpanned.

"Still. Little victories!"

He rolled his eyes, but Bellamy's smile never dimmed. "Please don't tell me you want to come in and tuck me in. Raven wouldn't."

"Raven and I aren't the same person. We match; we complete each other."

"Oh jesus."

Miller hadn't had a nightmare in a long time. Anya visited him in the hospital once. She sat by his bed for over an hour, just listening to him tell the whole story. He'd never seen her look so proud. Her only advice was to stop getting shot. He promised to remember it.

He had a lot of time in the hospital to just think. The medication kept him asleep at night, but in the mornings before the nurse came in, he just lied there and thought. He wasn't sure what to do with his life yet. His career in the force didn't look too bright anymore. Maybe it was a possibility for him to quit, too. Start over maybe.

Monty popped into his mind often. Sometimes he let him in, sometimes he didn't. Anya couldn't tell him what to do about it. He wasn't sure there was an answer. It was a possibility that he'd never see Monty again. He couldn't demand it. He just wished it wasn't an option.

Bellamy wouldn't let him go in without a hug. Miller just took it.

"Good luck with your plans", he told him quietly.

Bellamy pulled away, abashed. "You know."

"Of course I know", he huffed. "I'm your partner, right? Well - not anymore, but still."

"I don't know how I'll do without you", Bellamy admitted with a laugh.

"Just don't forget to call."

They hugged again, as tightly as Miller's body allowed. Bellamy patted his cheek when they pulled away.

"I'll call you tomorrow."

"Ha ha."

He opened the door of his apartment, keys jingling in his tired hands. It looked so empty in there. A part of him wanted to stay in the stairwell with Bellamy.

A movement caught his eye. He stared with his mouth hanging open as Monty got up from his couch.

He looked good. Healthy. Clean. It felt like years since they'd last seen each other. Miller guessed he looked like trash himself.

The look on Monty's face was apprehensive and he didn't move. Miller looked back to see Bellamy smiling at him before shutting the door. A silence fell over them as he turned back to Monty.

There had been a time when he had so much he wanted to say if they could just be alone together. He'd never gotten the chance. But now all the words were gone.

Monty cleared his throat once, twice. He seemed at loss of words as well.

Miller took a step forward. Then another. It must've been the longest he'd ever seen Monty quiet. He told him that.

Monty laughed shakily before it was muffled by Miller's shoulder where he buried his face when he wrapped his arms around his thin frame. It had been too long. Too much had happened for him to not _feel_ him alive before words were necessary.

"You've been here the whole time?"

Monty nodded. "Pretty much."

Miller just watched him.

"I told you I'd need to see your place too", Monty added lamely.

"Since when are you nervous around me - or anyone for that matter?"

"Since I lied to you. About a lot of things. And got you shot --"

"You didn't get me shot."

"I did", Monty looked at him sadly. "Without me none of this would've happened. You have no idea how grateful I am that you're okay. I lied about so many things."

"You slept with me under false pretenses."

"I did", Monty hung his head in shame.

"You lied multiple times about having no contacts. And you drugged me. While I appreciated you following my previous advice of just knocking me out, I can't say I enjoyed the whole thing in action."

Monty just nodded.

"You didn't tell me about going to meet Clarke. Instead, you said we should stop whatever it was that was happening."

Monty looked up. "All of it."

"You said it was better we didn't talk about it. You said you wanted me to go."

"All lies."

"You looked me in the eye and I couldn't tell you were lying."

"I learned from the best."

His lips twitched. "I was really upset with you."

"I deserved it."

"You still have two questions left", Miller said softly.

He watched as Monty raised his hand, trailing a finger up his chest to his shoulder.

"I don't need them", Monty met his eyes. He looked young and nervous and tired and sincere. "I trust you."

They kissed sweetly, so, so sweetly. Monty's hands curved around his shoulders, his neck, as he held on tightly. Miller let their lips brush once, twice, three times.

"Thank you", he whispered.

**Author's Note:**

> you should all know that aisling (millerbellamy) is gonna post a birthday present fic for me today (saturday?) and you should all read it when it's posted bc it's exciting but also comment on this bc i'm asking nicely thank you good night


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